


Restorations

by Hester_Of_Ravenswood, TheLonelyDraconequus



Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No Smut, No enabler, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 31,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hester_Of_Ravenswood/pseuds/Hester_Of_Ravenswood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyDraconequus/pseuds/TheLonelyDraconequus
Summary: After everything that happened in the last one, the party needs to heal, and where else is better to do that than...Side note: No smut, no enabler
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Ilia Amitola/Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan/Ciel Soleil, Oscar Pine/Whitley Schnee, Penny Polendina/Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen/Elm Ederne
Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661938
Comments: 136
Kudos: 95





	1. Home

Yang pushed herself up in bed, almost falling back over. She hesitated, glancing to her right arm, finding that it was, unsurprisingly, still gone. She sighed and shook her head. It was still disorientating to have her right arm being the missing one, considering it was her dominant hand. She looked around the room in shock. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in a bed... perhaps it had been way back in Atlas, the first time they'd left? No, it had been after that, back in Argus. Since then, she'd been sleeping in warehouses and airships. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She was in her room. Not the one from Beacon, nor the one at Atlas that she'd shared with her teammates. Just her normal bedroom, back at...

Home.

She was back home.

Yang glanced to the side, expecting to find someone else in bed with her. She'd gotten used to having three others sharing the small space she would get, either in on floor or in the small, single sized bunks.

Yang wasn't certain when she'd gotten home, and she rolled out of bed, finding that she was still in her clothes from the fight... her forearm shot with pain, which she soon realized was just in her imagination, considering she didn't _have_ a right forearm anymore.

As she pushed open her door, she found herself wondering how long it had been since their fight. Where was everyone? Where were Blake and Weiss? She would assume that Ruby was somewhere in the house as well, but she guessed that she might not be. Her worry grew as she moved through the house, finding it almost unbearably silent.

Yang walked into the living room and was shocked to find Qrow sitting in a chair. He glanced up at Yang, looking at her over a glass of scotch.

"Your father's outside, kiddo," he said, voice sounding even more raspy than normal. He wondered what was wrong with her uncle. She thought he'd given up drinking. And where were Elm and Qrow. She turned to the side and saw that Elm was sitting in the kitchen, looking ahead with a blank stare, just as Qrow had.

She didn't acknowledge Yang as she walked past.

The house seemed to be filled with some sort of weight that she couldn't comprehend, but it caused her to hand her head slightly.

She pushed open the backdoor, stepping outside. When she did, her father turned, flashing her a small, compassionate smile as he saw her.

"Yang! How are you...," he faltered, "feeling."

Yang shrugged, not looking him in the eyes.

"I'll feel better when you tell me where my team is."

"Oh! Why didn't you just ask? They're-"

"YANNNNGGG!" Ruby's familiar voice called.

Yang had only a moment to steady herself with her legs, trying in vain to draw both of her arms up for a moment, only to feel a pang of loss in her heart, before Ruby appeared in a blur of rose petals. She threw herself at her sister, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"You're awake!"

"Yeah...," she paused, "where is everyone?"

"Team CFVY left to find Maria and Whitley. Oscar went with them...," Ruby trailed off, thinking, "Ciel tried to convince Neo to leave and help Atlas rebuild, but she refused, so they're still here. So's Winter! But... Penny left. I don't know why she left, but Winter doesn't seem too worried, so I wouldn't worry either.Team JNIPR is still here too...," she paused and looked down sadly, "Qrow and Elm are inside grieving..."

"What about Weiss and Blake?" Yang found herself asking desperately.

They couldn't have left, could they? Someone else couldn't have left her again... not like Raven, right? They couldn't have just **left** after she lost her **arm** right?!

"They're-"

"Is that Yang?" Blake's voice called.

"It is!" Weiss responded.

The two raced toward Yang, tackling her in their own hugs.

Blake looked at her worriedly, though Yang counted herself grateful that Blake didn't stare at her arm like it was some sort of freak show. Weiss reached up, looping her arms around Yang and pulling her down for a deep kiss.

When they pulled apart, Blake replaced her, the kiss gentle and almost as if she was worried that Yang would slip from her grasp forever.

Taiyang cleared his throat and the two jumped apart, glancing at Yang and Ruby's father with slightly guilty expressions.

Taiyang shook his head fondly, rolling his eyes.

"You know what? Go ahead. You four deserve it after everything you've been through."

Yang grinned, more than ready to go back to distracting herself from her missing arm with Blake and Wiess' lips, but there was a loud scream.

Nora raced forward, a wide grin on her face.

"Yang! You're back!" she bounced up and down excitedly as she looked at her, eyes not even flickering toward her missing arm, which Yang was, once again, thankful for.

"How long was I gone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A little over a day," Blake said, hand reaching out to cup Yang's face.

"I've been asleep for over twenty-four hours?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. You even slept through Neo's bumpy landing!" Ruby said, giggling.

As she moved toward the group, Neopolitan raised her middle finger. Ciel smacked her.

The rest of team JNIPR joined them too.

Pyrrha had a slight limp, and Yang was certain there was some sort of injury on her side, though she couldn't tell what it was. Despite her injury, Pyrrha joined the rest of her teammates in a group hug, almost squeezing Yang too tight for her to breathe.

After hugging Yang, Ilia stared down at the ground, kicking at the grass.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked.

Ruby grimaced, and Pyrrha put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Yang... Clover didn't make it," Blake said slowly.

Yang froze, eyes wide.

"Ilia, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine," Ilia said. She gave Yang a smile that seemed at least half forced, but not completely.

Yang looked around for a moment, then glanced at her dad, grinning.

"You sure we got enough room for all of these hobos?"

He grimaced.

"I'm sure we can make some," he said, sounding a bit uncertain.

Yang laughed.

"Yeah. Maybe we can kick you out," she said.

Taiyang sighed.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Yang glanced around at the group. Everything felt different... except for them. At least she could be certain that the people around her would always be there, no matter how far away they went.


	2. The News

Yang let herself fall against the couch behind her, letting out a sigh. She forced herself not to attempt to straighten her hair with her right arm. Her face fell for a moment, and Blake must have noticed, as she sat down beside that right arm. She set her head on Yang's shoulder, not even seeming to notice the stump. Yang felt uncomfortable about it for a moment before she found herself smiling, moving what was let of her arm so that it was on Blake's shoulder. She didn't flinch, and Yang found herself relaxing slightly at not being treated any different by Blake. Yang knew it was silly to have worried about that, at least she did now, and she smiled. Weiss rested her head on Yang's other shoulder.

"Oh, Yang, did you hear about Beacon?!" Nora asked enthusiastically.

Yang shook her head.

"No. What happened?"

"Ever since we killed Salem, the Grimm have been leaving. I heard that it could be opened back up in a month or two!"

"Who'd be the headmaster, then?" Ren asked.

There was a beat of silence.

"I don't know. But it _could_ open again! Wouldn't that be sweet?! We could go back and get our licenses! What would we be now? Second years?"

"Third years," Pyrrha corrected, "Because we started at seventeen, and now we're twenty," she glanced at Ruby, "At least, most of us are."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I don't wanna hear it anymore, Nikos! I'm eighteen!"

"Sounds pretty childish to me," Ren said, sipping a tea he'd made himself.

Ruby gaped at him.

"That's not fair! I'm an adult now!"

"Yeah, but, like, in the way that Nora's an adult, so not really," Jaune said.

"Just for that, I'm not letting you have any of my gummy bears," Nora muttered.

"Wait, what?! You can't do that! I'm your favorite boyfriend, right?!"

"All's fair in love and gummy bears. Plus, neither are you are my favorite," Nora said. She punctuated the sentence by viciously ripping the head off of a gummy bear with her teeth.

"None of you kids are adults," Qrow muttered, a small smile on his face. It was the first one since... he shook his head to clear his thoughts. Clover wouldn't have wanted him to be sad for too long... but that was inevitable. Qrow thought that, in a way, a part of him would always be sad. He glanced at his drink for a moment before setting it on the table beside him and sliding it away. Clover wouldn't like him drink either, that's for sure.

"What?! We just saved the world!" Ruby cried.

"So what? Our team did that all the time," Qrow said offhandedly.

"No, no, no! You _delayed_ the end of the world! We **stopped** the end of the world," Nora corrected.

Qrow rolled his eyes sufferingly. He looked to Taiyang to back him up, but the man had stepped outside.

"Elms, back me up here."

"I don't know... I don't think we've _ever_ saved the world quite like that," she said, rubbing her jaw in thought.

"What?! Aren't you dating me? That means you automatically take my side," Qrow said.

"Have you ever _dated_ someone before, Qrow?" she asked dubiously.

"I-what?! Of course I have! I dated her!" he said, throwing his hand in Winter's general direction.

Winter grimaced.

" **Please** don't remind me," she said. "Besides, I've upgraded."

"Yeah, literally. She's a robot, Winter."

"She-"

"Has an aura, yeah, yeah. Still a robot. A highly functioning, human robot, but she has wires instead of veins, Winter."

Winter scowled at him.

"If I didn't remember why we broke up, I certainly do now."

"Wait, Qrow, you dated her?!" Taiyang cried.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Qrow, she's, like, ten years younger than you!"

"No she's not!"

"More like eight," Winter said, smirking as she took a sip of her drink.

Taiyang shook his head.

"Not cool, Qrow."

He threw up his hands.

"I can't win!"

"Hmm. Bad luck," Taiyang said, sticking his tongue out at him. Qrow hesitated, glancing at Elm. The room lost its jovial mood, and Taiyang could tell he'd done something wrong, but he couldn't tell _what_ exactly.

He quickly changed the subject.

"So, Rubes, Yang, you still haven't introduced me to all of your...," he hesitated as he took in the large party that was filling up his living room, "friends..."

"I think Nora would be better at that," Yang said, smirking.

Nora hurried forward to Taiyang at the words.

"Hi! I'm Nora, and I can introduce you to everyone! Those are my boyfriends, Jaune and Ren, who are also dating each other, but I'm their favorite. That's my other teammate Pyrrha, and her girlfriend and newest teammate Ilia. She's a faunus, but you can't always tell because she has this super cool chameleon color change thingy. That's Weiss' sister, Winter, who was the one that dated Qrow, which I think is super gross. Especially cause Winter's new girlfriend is way cooler. Her name's Penny, by the way, and she's a robot! But she's got an aura, which means she has a soul, and Winter's defensive of that subject, so you should probably not mention it. See? She's glaring at me right now! Although, she does glare most of the time when Penny's not here, so it's kinda hard to tell if that's why. And that's Ciel! She's Penny's partner from Atlas. She's dating the girl beside her, Neo, which is short for Neopolitan, who's a criminal that's hiding from Atlas... but then again, we're criminals too. Anyways, she's mute, so you'll probably need a translator to talk to her, but she is pretty good at getting her point across usually!" Neo raised her middle finger. "See! Then there's Blake and Weiss, but you met them already, right?" he nodded.

Nora sucked in a giant breath when she finished speaking, and Taiyang realized she hadn't breathed during her whole long and thorough introduction.

"That's... a lot of information."

"Yup! There's also a few more of us, but-"

Taiyang shook his head quickly, eyes wide.

"I think I'm gonna have enough trouble trying to remember these."

Nora laughed, and Yang smirked when her father glared at her for saddling him with Nora.

"Anyways, tell me about little Ruby and Yang! Got any baby pictures? Embarrassing stories?"

Ren and Jaune each put a hand on her shoulder, halting her.

Jaune mouthed, "sorry," to Taiyang as he helped Ren drag her back to her seat.

"When's Beacon starting up again?" he asked, looking around the large group.

The spare room would _definitely_ not be enough for this large crowd...


	3. Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, by popular demand, Zwei has been brought in. You're welcome

The pitter patter of little feet sounded through the porch and into the room.

Ruby gasped in excitement.

"ZWEI!" she cried, using her semblance to race across the room, rolling across the ground and grabbing Zwei in her arms.

He let out a happy pant, licking her face quickly.

She laughed and scratched his head.

Yang joined her sister a moment later and stole Zwei from her sister, clutching the dog in her arm as he licked at her face, getting her on the mouth. She spat out in disgust and Blake, from across the room, cringed, reminding herself not to kiss Yang for a _long_ time.

Yang and Ruby stood, each petting the dog as they walked back to the couch. Weiss joined them, and Blake crawled away, perching on the top of the couch and pushing herself against the corner.

Yang frowned at her as she glared at Zwei.

"Come on... he's my therapy dog, but I need my therapy kitty too!"

Blake shifted her gaze to Yang, glaring at her too.

Yang just gave her a long look as well.

Blake let out a groan, sliding back onto the couch slowly and watching Zwei intently.

The dog just smiled at her, tongue lolling out of his mouth in his enthusiasm.

Blake glared at him, unamused as she moved hesitantly closer to Yang.

"You have a **doggy**?!" Nora cried, racing forward and sliding across the floor in her haste to pet Zwei. It seemed as if everyone was excited to see Zwei, even Ren, who set his hand on the dog's head instead of petting him. Zwei must have been confused, but he didn't seem to care. He let Ren just put his hand on his head, panting in enjoyment.

Ilia took a seat beside Blake, laughing as she glared at the dog.

"You alright?" she asked.

Blake sighed sufferingly, nodding.

"I'll be fine."

Ilia snickered, shaking her head.

Blake smiled at her, a sort of compassionate and knowing sort of look, and set her hand on Ilia's shoulder comfortingly. A few years back, Ilia would have over thought this display of friendship, but now she just gave Blake a slightly grateful as she leaned against the cat faunus' side.

Yang was laughing again, petting the dog with her left hand. There was still a sense of loss that radiated from the other girl, but Blake supposed she would probably be like that for a while.

The rest of the afternoon went about as one would expect, the mood shifting from lighthearted to heavy and then back and forth more times than anyone could count.

"Okay, because I don't have a mansion like these two," Taiyang gestured vaguely at Weiss and Winter, "there are **not** enough rooms for all of you. You'll have to split up into different rooms, and some of you are taking the couch."

"Weiss and Blake can join me," Yang said. Taiyang raised an eyebrow, and she flushed in embarrassment.

"Do you really think we're going to do anything?" she asked, waving her arm in frustration.

He shrugged, looking slightly awkward now.

"Then Rubes, you can-"

"Join them? Okay!"

Taiyang stared at her, and she laughed awkwardly.

"Who wants Ruby's room?"

Neo raised her hand, and Ciel grabbed it, pulling it down.

"We'll take the couch, thank you, sir," Ciel said.

Neo huffed.

_'We **always** get stuck with the couch!'_

"Because there's two of us, we're small, and you're always complaining. Of course we get the couch," Ciel whispered to her. Neo snickered.

"Team JNIPR, how about you take it?" Taiyang suggested.

Nora grinned in excitement.

"I can't _remember_ the last time we slept in a bed!"

Taiyang side eyed her with a questioning look, and she just smiled.

"Qrow, Elm, you can take the spare room."

_'See?! Why can't **we** have the spare room?!'_

"I **just** told you why," Ciel hissed.

Neo rolled her eyes, laughing silently.

"We're taking Zwei," Yang said.

Blake grimaced.

"Do we **have** to?"

Yang looked at her levelly, and Blake sighed.

"Fine. But keep him on the other side of the bed."

"He sleeps where he wants, Blake," Yang said, standing. She held Zwei in one arm and turned to Blake as if attempting to hold out her right hand to help her up, then hesitated, shaking her head sadly. Blake put a hand on Yang's shoulder and guided her out of the room. It was late, and dinner had already been served, and a full scale food fight had almost followed. Night had fallen, and Yang glanced out the window. Flashes of the dark tendrils appeared in her head, and she felt her hand start to tremble.

Zwei barked at the suddenly unstable arm holding him.

Yang almost dropped him, but Ruby swooped forward, grabbing the dog from her as her hand continued to shake.

"Yang?" Weiss asked uncertainly.

The blond jumped, shaking her head.

"Are you alright?" Weiss continued.

Yang nodded, but it was clear that she didn't truly mean her response.

Weiss reached her hand out to set it on Yang's shoulder, and she flinched, glancing at her. Weiss started to withdraw, but Yang grabbed her hand with her left.

"Sorry," she whispered, "Let's just... go to bed, alright?"

Weiss held her hand gently.

"It's alright. Whatever you want, Yang."

Blake set her hand on her shoulder and guided her to the bedroom.

Ruby shut the door behind them, and Yang sat down on the bed, folding over and setting her head in her hand, hesitating as if expecting another arm to bring itself up as well. Of course it didn't.

Blake sat down beside her, Weiss taking her other side.

"Do you want to... talk about it?" Blake asked nervously.

Yang shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. She blinked them away.

"I just... lost a piece of myself. I have to just... get used to it."

Ruby sat down on the floor in front of her sister, looking at her with worried eyes.

There was a beat of silence, and Yang sat up.

"I'm just... really tired. Can we go to sleep?" she asked, sounding almost pleading.

"Yeah... yeah, we can go to sleep now," Blake said.

Weiss nodded, and they laid down on the bed. Ruby turned out the light, letting Zwei down on the bed.

Blake watched the dog warily for a moment before laying down at Yang's right side. She sighed and looked at Zwei.

"Alright, if you must," she muttered.

Zwei's tongue lolled out of his mouth and he crawled toward her. Blake screamed in her head as Zwei laid down between her and Yang's legs.

Weiss seemed hesitant as she laid on Yang's right side, glancing at her arm.

"If you don't want to touch it-"

Weiss instantly waved her hands in panic.

"No! That's not it! I just... don't want to make you comfortable or anything..."

"It's alright."

Weiss curled up on her right side, resting her head and listening to Yang's heartbeat, comforted by the steady pattern of her new pillow rising and falling to the rhythm of Yang's breathing.

Ruby took the final spot beside Blake, looping her arm around her waist.

"It's awesome to have a queen sized bed! Now we're not all squished on a bunk bed!" Ruby said excitedly.

Yang laughed at her sister's enthusiasm.

"Yeah. It's also nice not to sleep on the floor," Yang said.

The four grew silent, and slowly slipped asleep. Yang was the final one to drift asleep, phantom pains shooting up her arm for several minutes. But when she did, she found no nightmares awaiting her. Just dreams.

-

 _'Coulda had the spare room, but **no** we had to take the couch,'_ Neo signed, rolling her eyes.

Ciel grabbed her hands as they laid down.

"Honey, I love you, but shut up."

Neo grinned.

-

"How does team RWBY do this?!" Nora cried.

There were five of them in Ruby's bed, but they weren't as comfortable as their friends sleeping down the hallway were.

Nora's legs were _everywhere_ , even kicking Ilia, who lay at the edge of the bed beside Pyrrha, who was sandwiched between her and Jaune.

Nora was in between her boyfriends, somehow taking up the majority of the bed despite being the smallest member of their team. Everyone was at least a bit uncomfortable at the close proximity, with elbows and knees jabbing everywhere. The only spot that _hadn't_ been hit by anyone yet was Pyrrha's side, which had yet to fully heal. It was a light shade of black that was barely noticeable with the bruising and scabbing.

"I guess that means no more two piece swimsuits for me, huh?" Pyrrha asked, wincing as she moved wrong.

Nora burst out laughing at Ilia's expression, which was one of loss.

"I think Ilia would disagree!"

The faunus flushed as the rest of her teammates laughed.

"I... You still look beautiful, Pyrrha, with or without scars," Ilia stuttered, barely making it through her sentence.

Nora gagged and Pyrrha smiled at her lovingly.

As the rest of her party slowly fell asleep, Ilia played with the pendant on her chest and she sighed. As she drifted to sleep, she clutched the pendant tightly.

-

Elm and Qrow didn't sleep that night, instead staying up talking on the bed. They talked about... everything. Clover, their lives, their pasts... their regrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that's stuck with me with me this far. This story has gotten away from even me, and it's been inspired by a bunch of comments and what people have said... it's just so nice and sweet of you all!
> 
> I mean, when I started, only the first one and a half parts were planned, and the only side ships I had in mind were PennyxWinter and PyrrhaxIlia. This has gotten so much farther than even I thought, so thank you all! Your comments have all just been... THANK YOU! YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME SO MUCH! Sorry, that's all


	4. One More Thing-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly? I'm surprised nobody's commented on Neo's new power set yet.

Oscar pushed through the crowd, struggling to follow after team CFVY.

He pulled out his scroll from his pocket. Coco grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to keep him from lagging too far behind, tugging him along behind her as he sent a message.

 **Oscar:** _We landed! Can't wait to see you!_

 **Whit-Whit:** _You landed already? Okay, we're on our way!_

Oscar grinned, bouncing on the tips of his toes in a vain attempt to see over the rest of the people in the crowd.

Suddenly, he caught the barest glimpse of icy white hair, and he grinned in excitement. He raced forward, Coco following after him and causing her whole team to come with.

Oscar pushed through the crowd, for once not caring about them. For once in his life, everything was going great for Oscar! He had helped take down Salem, Oz hadn't said a word in his head since, and he got to see Whitley again! That meant that he could be with Whitley without Oz messing it up. Or the need to save the world messing it up, he guessed.

"Whitley!" he called, hurrying to close the distance between the two of them.

Whitley spun, smiling broadly when his eyes landed on Oscar.

"You're alright!" he said, pulling Oscar in for a hug.

"Yeah! I told you I was," Oscar said, laughing.

"As if I can believe you. You're not the most reliable when it comes to telling the truth, from what I've heard."

Oscar flushed.

"That was... the old me. Now I can be the new me! Because it's over! It's all _finally_ over, Whitley!"

Oscar let out a disbelieving laugh, because it seemed as if it all had finally sunk in. He _really_ was free. It **was** all over.

And-

_Actually, Oscar, there's one more job to be done._

Oscar froze at the sound of Ozma's voice.

_W-what?_

-

Winter heard the familiar sound of jets, and she hurried to her feet, running out of the house.

She skidded to a stop just as Penny landed in front of her.

"Are you alright?" Winter asked immediately, looking Penny up and down for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine, Girlfriend Winter! Thank you for your concern, however. My mission was a completely success!"

"What **was** your mission?" Winter asked, somewhat irritably.

"I'll explain in a moment," Penny said, leaning up on the tips of her toes to give Winter a quick kiss. When she'd finished, she raced inside to see the rest of her friends, though she sought one in particular out from the crowd.

"Friend Yang!" she called.

Yang jumped at the loud noise, looking over her shoulder.

"Penny? Hey! I was worried about you. Where've you been-"

Penny thrust a large piece of metal at Yang's face, and she had to jump back to avoid getting hit in the face by whatever Penny was holding.

"What... is that?" she asked, her voice sounding uncertain.

-

_There's one more job we have to carry out, Oscar, and then you'll be done. You won't have to deal with any of this ever again, including myself._

_What? How?_

Whitley stared at Oscar with a mix of confusion and irritation.

"Uh, one second, Whitley, I'm... talking to him."

Whitley watched him with a bit of discomfort. It was odd to see his boyfriend having a heated conversation with an immortal man in the back of his head. Understandably, Whitley didn't like to think about Ozma too much.

_After this, I'll be gone._

_Gone? As in... dead?_ Oscar asked, concerned.

_Yes. If everything goes as planned, I'll be dead once we've finished._

_You... but... aren't you immortal?_ Oscar asked.

_I wasn't always, Oscar. You know my story now, and I can tell that you know what we have to do._

_Right. Forgot you can kind of hear everything I'm thinking._

_We have to reunite the relics, Oscar. Salem is finally dead._

_But... what if the gods judge us to be unjust still?_

_Oscar, this is a risk we have to take._

_Is it really? Couldn't we just... ignore it and go on with our lives?_

_Oscar, just trust me. With Salem and her forces defeated, the gods will be able to meet the righteous people that risked their lives to kill her. We'll be fine._

_But should we even take that chance?_

_I'm tired. It's been... it's been so long, and I'm so exhausted. We have to do it now._

Oscar didn't know what Ozma meant, exactly, but he nodded anyways. He could feet it is Ozma. The exhaustion, the endless cycle of life and death that had no meaning... and the pain he still felt from Salem's death.

Despite everything that she'd done... he still loved her, which meant that he, of course, would still be mourning her.

Oscar took one look around at the world around him, and found it more beautiful than ever before.

Maybe Ozma was right. Maybe the gods would see the best in people, and let Ozma finally rest.

Oscar turned back to Whitley, wincing.

"Actually... there's one more thing we have to do."

"Are you kidding me?!"

-

"It's an arm, Friend Yang! My father made it!"

"So quickly?" Winter asked.

"I sent him a message as soon as we returned to the airship with the exact specifications! Here!" Penny said happily, holding it out to Yang.

Yang glanced at her teammates with a look of slight horror.

Ruby gestured for her to take it with a small, encouraging smile.

Blake set a hand on her knee while Weiss watched Yang hesitantly.

Yang reached out slowly with her left hand, seeing it shake slightly. She took a deep breath, and Weiss set her hand on the shaking limb gently.

Yang gave her a grateful look before taking the prosthetic hand, holding it in her remaining, human one.

"I hope you enjoy it, Friend Yang!" Penny said happily.

Winter grabbed Penny by the hand, giving team RWBY an apologetic look, before leading her away.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Penny, it's just... she'll need some time to appreciate what you've done."

Penny frowned in confusion.

"Was I too soon?" she asked in confusion.

"Maybe, but that's alright," Winter said calmingly.

-

Neo pulled away from Ciel.

 _'I'll be right back,'_ she signed.

Ciel nodded, turning to continue her conversation with Jaune. Neo made a mental reminder to talk to the knight. She still hadn't properly thanked him. She probably wouldn't _ever_ be able to fully thank him for what he'd done, but she could certainly try.

Neo snapped her fingers, gaining Penny's attention.

She turned, frowning.

"Yes, Neo?" she asked in confusion.

_'Can I ask you a few questions?'_

"Certainly!" Penny said, giving a quiet goodbye to Winter before following Neo outside.

"What is it?"

 _'Something... happened after Emerald died. That light shot into me, and all of the sudden I could do... a lot of things I couldn't before. What happened?'_ Neo wished she could have phrased that better, but she didn't know how.

"I almost forgot! You're a Maiden, Neo! Well, I suppose that you're a double Maiden, considering Emerald had the power of both the Summer and the Spring Maiden."

_'And... how exactly did that happen? And what's a Maiden again?'_

"Neo, we've discussed Maidens several times in front of you. Were you not listening?"

_'To be honest, I have no idea what's happened since I joined you guys. I've just been trying to keep Ciel from dying.'_

Penny stared at her with a shocked expression.

"I... think I should get Friend Pyrrha. Please give me a moment," Penny finally said.

Neo shrugged.

_'Alright.'_

To be honest, Neo couldn't remember hearing the word 'Maiden' more than twice since they'd left Atlas the first time.

-

Yang stared at the prosthetic arm in her hand contemplatively, frowning.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"What?" Yang shook her head to clear it, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm... fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the stuff with Yang's arm will be a bit different from canon considering it IS different from canon, but I hope I do it justice!


	5. Explained

Yang’s hand shook as she set the arm down beside her bed. At her side sat her teammates, and across from her was her father, standing and leaning against the doorframe. He’s come inside to say goodnight, but he paused at Yang’s actions. She’d been doing this for the last three days since Penny has returned, and he was sick of it.

“Are you... not going to try it on?” Ruby asked hesitantly.

Yang stiffened.

“I just have to get used to the new normal first.”

“Normal is what you make of it,” Taiyang said from beside the door.

“D o you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone. And it's never coming back.”

Blake and Weiss glanced at one another, unsure what they should do in this situation.

Ruby gestured toward her sister, and each moved forward hesitantly, putting a hand on her shoulders.

“You're right. It's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you.”

Yang couldn’t think of anything to say, and Taiyang walked outside, closing the door behind him.

Yang sat on the bed, shocked silent.

Blake slowly looped her arm around Yang’s waist, hesitant, almost as if she was worried that Yang would yell or perhaps pull away.

Yang instead crumbled against her side, tears forming in her eyes.

Weiss sat down on the bed beside Yang and grabbed her hand, setting her arm around her shoulders.

Ruby let her sister cry gently, stepping around the bed to grab her prosthetic arm.

Ruby sat down on the bed across from the three, looking her sister in the eyes.

“You can _do_ this. You’re _**Yang Xaio Long**_! You are _more_ than capable of this!”

She held the prosthetic arm out invitingly.

Yang stared at it for a few moments before she reached out. Her hand shook. Weiss put her hand over her arm, and Yang’s steadied slightly.

She took the prosthetic arm from Ruby, and Blake helped her click it into place.

Yang stared at it for a long time before twitching her fingers, flipping her hand over hesitantly. It reacted with impossible speed, almost like the real thing.

She flipped it over a few more times, and Blake held out her hand. Yang pulled back, hesitant. Blake reaches forward and threaded her fingers through the metallic ones.

Yang stared at the arm, almost nervously, as if she didn’t trust the metal.

Blake pulled back, giving her a small smile.

“Your father and Ruby were right,” Weiss said, “you’re stronger than you think.”

Yang’s hand, her human hand, shook, and she grabbed it with her metallic one to steady it.

She looked at it hesitantly for a moment before glancing at her teammates, a small smile on her lips.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

Ruby let herself grin finally, throwing herself into Yang’s arms.

“It’s perfect!”

“It’s not... quite perfect.”

“How so?” Weiss asked, worried.

Yang’s smile widened, and Ruby sighed.

“She wants to make it yellow.”

“I want to make it yellow.”

-

_So... where do we have to go?_ Oscar asked in his head.

_We need to return to Rose-Xaio Long household to retrieve your friends before going to Shade Academy._

_Shade Academy? Why?  
_

_We're collecting the relic, Oscar. You know they're kept in the four schools._

_Oh, right. When are we going to Beacon?_

_After Shade, most likely, once a few more of the Grimm have been cleared out, but before anyone could get it in their head to see what's inside the vault,_

_Okay. Um, we can get Maria to fly us back to Ruby and Yang's house now...but do we have to start right away?_

_Don't you just want to be done, Oscar? Don't you just want your nice, peaceful life that you were so excited about?_

_I guess you're right. We can go now._

-

_'So... I'm one of those Maidens?'_

"Two of them, actually!" Penny said.

Neo stared at them incredulously.

_'I need a drink.'_

"You're underage."

' _I need two drinks.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t drink, kids. Don’t be like Neo she’s not a good influence.


	6. Lending a Hand

"So you're telling me that **she** is one of, if not the, most powerful people in the world? That **she** has the power of not one, but _two_ Maidens?"

Penny nodded.

Ciel glanced at her girlfriend, who was currently snickering silently at Jaune after he had tripped down the stairs.

Neo glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I need a drink."

 _'That's what I said!'_ Neo signed excitedly.

Ciel stared at her.

"Maybe two drinks," she said, rubbing her temple.

"But Friend Ciel, you're underage."

"And I'm also a criminal in every kingdom on the planet. Just get me a drink."

Neo snickered, and Ciel groaned again.

"She was already hard enough to deal with when she was just _normal_ her, but now you're telling me I have to deal with a super powered version of her?"

"Essentially?" Penny said, though she sounded uncertain.

Neo smiled at Ciel innocently.

"I really might need that drink."

"Not worth it, kid," Qrow said from across the room, lounging on the chair.

Ciel glanced at Neo, who winked at her.

"She's barely even worth it, so maybe you're right."

-

Yang stepped into the living room, her left hand holding her right arm, though Weiss was also clutching it, as if worried that it would start shaking as well.

Yang appreciated the kind gesture, though she didn't get the chance to tell her before the living room fell awkwardly silent.

"Hey, Yang," her father said, glancing up from his cup of coffee, "good to see you again."

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Did you paint it yellow?" Penny asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah. I appreciated the gift, Pen, but I just needed to make it more... me."

"I'm glad you like it, Friend Yang!"

Nora's eyes darted from Yang's face to the arm and then back again.

"Wanna see how well that thing works?" she asked.

Yang grinned.

"You wanna arm wrestle?"

"I wanna arm wrestle!"

Nora sat down on the floor beside the coffee table, setting her elbow on it and holding her hand out for Yang to take.

Yang accepted it, laughing quietly to herself.

"Maybe you shouldn't test it so soon," Jaune said worriedly.

"Friend Jaune, I assure you that the arm is fully functional, and perhaps stronger than her original one was!" Penny said happily.

Blake scoffed at the pair, though it was a fond sound, as she walked over to lean against the wall and watching the preceedings. Weiss joined her and yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

Ruby raced out of the room into the kitchen, but her sister didn't notice as she started the arm wrestling match with Nora.

Yang laughed at Nora's enthusiastic expression, a plan formulating in the back of her head. Yang was shocked as she started the competition. She was actually holding her own, if not winning, as the arm reacted almost the way her original one had. She smiled broadly, eyes leaving Nora and landing on the prosthetic. It was... unbelievable.

Yang found herself smirking as she reached her left hand up, releasing the prosthetic.

Nora let out a cry of shock as she went falling to the ground. She sat up, screaming as soon as she saw the arm.

"Yang, I'm so-"

Yang burst out laughing, almost falling over backwards as she did so.

Nora realized she hadn't ripped the arm off, and glared at Yang.

She threw the prosthetic at her face, and Yang caught it just barely before it could hit her.

"Jerk," Nora muttered.

Ruby walked back in, holding two mugs carefully so as not to spill on herself.

"Who won?" she asked.

"Nobody. Yang messed with her," Blake said.

Weiss yawned again, holding her hand over her mouth as her eyes shut.

When she finished, Ruby held out one of the mugs for her.

"Here!" she said happily.

Weiss took it, if only to stop herself from being hit in the face by the overeager team leader.

"What's...," she trailed off as the smell hit her, and she smiled.

"Did you-"

"Put in two sugars, just like you like it? Sure did!"

"Thanks, Ruby," she said, taking a sip as she leaned against the wall.

"I got you one too!" she said, holding out a cup to Blake.

"I'm not really a coffee person. I prefer-"

"Tea? I know. That's why I got you it!"

Blake took the cup with wide eyes. Her face turned a light pink shade as she smiled down at Ruby.

"Thanks."

"Of course!" Ruby said, leaning her head against the faunus' shoulder as Yang walked over to join them.

"What, you didn't get me any?" she asked Ruby.

"Nope. You can get your own."

"But you were _just_ in there, Rubes! You made **them** drinks!"

"You need to be at least this," she gestured at Weiss and Blake, "attractive to get free drinks."

Yang huffed, walking past the three toward the kitchen, but a tall figure stepped in front of her.

"And where do you think you're going?" Taiyang asked.

"Uh, the kitchen?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope! You're coming outside with me."

Taiyang set a hand on her shoulder and started to guide her toward the back door.

"What? Why?"

"You need to get in some training with that new arm of yours! Can't let you back out in the field rusty."

Yang glared at him, and he just grinned, pushing her outside.

She sighed sufferingly, waving to her teammates over her shoulder.

There was a beat of silence before Blake turned to Weiss and Ruby.

"We're going to go watch, right?"

"Yup!" Ruby said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside.

"Don't you think Yang might want some privacy for this?"

"What?! We're her teammates! We've seen her train a million times! Plus, she needs some moral support!" Ruby said, waving her hand to dispel Weiss' worries.

-

"How are you holding up, kid?" Qrow asked.

Ilia had taken a seat across from him in the kitchen, finding that he, surprisingly, didn't have an alcoholic drink in his hands. Well, unless he'd spiked his coffee, which wouldn't surprise the faunus.

"Not... not too well," she muttered. Her hand reached into her pocket and she pulled out a pendant that matched the one she wore on her chest.

Qrow's eyes shot to it.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"You know where."

He nodded slowly, taking a drink of his coffee.

"He loved you, ya know. Said you were a great kid," Qrow said contemplatively.

Ilia hesitated, eyes already watering dangerously.

"He did?"

"Oh, constantly. Wouldn't shut up about you. Got kinda annoying, to be honest."

He glanced at Ilia, who looked down at her lap.

"His... last words to you. You remember 'em, right?"

Ilia nodded. How could she not?

"Good. Make sure you keep it that way, alright? He was right. He didn't... leave. Just because someone dies, doesn't mean that they're gone, or that they've left, kid."

Ilia sniffed, rubbing at her nose.

"I know."

"Good."

There was an almost awkward moment of silence.

"He talked about you a lot too."

Qrow glanced at her.

"You and Elm, but I'm sure she knows all about how he felt for her. Like you said, he wouldn't shut up about you. Thought you were the best thing since sliced bread... or maybe since Elm."

Qrow hesitated before a small smile spread across his face.

"Thanks, kid."

"Don't mention it."

-

Pyrrha glanced at Neo, who was currently talking, or rather signing, to her girlfriend.

She must have just said something cheeky, because Ciel blushed and rolled her eyes.

Neo had an air of mischief to her, and she seemed to enjoy playing it up, which was obvious from her interactions with Ciel.

Pyrrha didn't know much about the other girl, but she did try to keep an open mind about people. After all, if she'd made a snap judgement the moment she met everyone, she would never have started dating Ilia, or befriended Jaune, who everyone else had immediately dismissed as a criminal and a loser, respectively.

And Neo was the new Summer _and_ Spring Maiden, something that was unheard of to Pyrrha, and likely everyone else.

The criminal would, undoubtedly, need help with her powers, and there were only two people in the world that were qualified to tell her first hand experience about being a Maiden.

She and Penny would have to be enough.

-

Yang ducked and rolled to the side, coming up and throwing a punch at her father, who threw his forearm up to block it. She was shocked to find that her balance wasn't thrown off by the prosthetic. It was roughly the same weight as her real arm, so much so that Yang couldn't feel any difference in it, and she supposed that Penny's father must have done a great job making it.

Her father seemed shocked as well, because he was forced to take a step backward and gain a more defensive stance.

"You're not as far behind as I thought you would be," he commented.

He threw another punch, which Yang blocked with her left arm.

"It's not like I took any time off. I _just_ saved the world, like, four days ago."

"You also lost an arm four days ago," Taiyang responded.

She swung her right arm back, bringing the prosthetic forward to connect with his face. He stumbled back, and she grinned.

"Doesn't seem too bad."

He grinned and regained his stance.

"Last time I saw you fight, your technique seemed like nothing more than a temper tantrum."

"Yeah. Last time you saw me fight was at the Festival, and that was forever ago."

"It wasn't that long ago, Yang."

"It was forever ago."

He rolled his eyes, bringing his leg up for a kick, which she absorbed with her side.

"You're better than I remember, that's all I'm saying."

"Yeah. I'm also older than you remember."

He grimaced.

"I almost forgot. How was Ruby's birthday? I would have gotten her a gift, but...," he trailed off.

Yang hesitated, glancing at her sister.

She smirked as she saw how Ruby was keeping herself distracted.

"It was pretty great, considering we spent the whole day hidden in a warehouse. She's showing off her present right now."

-

Ruby grinned her widest smile as Nora admired her locket, taking it in her hands and looking at the pictures of Blake and Weiss.

"This is awesome!" she declared, dropping it and letting the necklace his Ruby in the chest.

"Nora, you were there the day she got it," Ren said evenly.

"Yeah, but it's still awesome!"

Ren and Jaune glanced at one another before they both sighed, shaking their heads in unison. Nora just grinned at them.

"You know you love me!"

"Unfortunately," Jaune said with a mock groan.

She shoved him, and Ruby rolled her eyes, returning to her girlfriends.

"Why are you always showing off that necklace?" Weiss asked.

"Because it's the best gift I've ever gotten, and I'll cherish it forever. The world **deserves** to know how perfect my girlfriends are!"

Weiss blushed and Blake gave Ruby a fond smile.

-

"You four seem happy," Taiyang said, sidestepping just in time to save himself from Yang's left hook.

"That's because we are."

Yang pivoted and threw her right arm forward, hitting him in the chest with her prosthetic.

He grunted as she hit him.

"That thing really packs a punch," he noted. She grinned.

"Are you four going back to Beacon when it's rebuilt?" he asked.

She faltered, almost letting herself get hit.

"I... I don't know. I guess we'll do whatever Rubes wants. She is the team leader, after all."

"Does that not annoy you? She's your little sister, after all."

Yang frowned. She guessed he had a point, but she shrugged.

"I don't know. She's good at this sort of thing, and I'm not really... the leader type. I don't really enjoy that sort of thing anyways."

Taiyang threw another punch, and Yang threw up her right arm to block it. Taiyang cursed a bit after hitting the metal with his fist.

"Are you sure? I mean, if you two stay with Blake and Weiss long term, you'll have to get used to that."

Yang frowned as she looked at him.

"Why are you asking about this."

He hesitated.

"It's just... I don't want you two to get hurt or ruin your sisterhood."

"Don't worry about us, dad. We're fine."

Taiyang was about to speak, but he stopped, eyes going wide. He froze in his tracks, which caused Yang to slow down as well.

Taiyang was looking over Yang's shoulder with disbelief.

She glanced behind her and found Ruby's lips locked against Blake's, the faunus lifting her into the air and pushing her against the side of the wall.

Weiss' hair was messed up noticeably, which made Yang sure that Ruby had been kissing her before Blake. The former heiress glanced toward them and saw Taiyang's expression. Her eyes widened and she turned to face Blake and Ruby, shaking the two of them hastily and saying something that Yang couldn't hear.

Ruby reluctantly pulled back from Blake, giving Weiss a frustrated look before following where the former heiress pointed. Her eyes widened as she saw her father gaping at her.

Yang let out a loud laugh, throwing her prosthetic hand over her mouth to cover the sound.

Ruby waved awkwardly at Taiyang while Blake blushed deeply.

"Nice, Rubes!" Yang called, pulling her hands in front of her to clap slowly and sarcastically.

She glanced back at their father, who was still staring.

"Like I said, we're older now."

He didn't move.

"Alright, that's the end of this training session! I blame you for breaking dad, Rubes!" Yang called.

"I didn't mean to!" Ruby whined.

Blake seemed as if she was considering slipping back inside to hide from her embarrassment, but she decided against it in the end.

Weiss awkwardly stood at Ruby's side while the team leader squirmed at her father's expression.

"Uh... dad?" she asked tentatively.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"Ruby, please, _please_ never do that where I can see it again," he said finally.

"Right! Right! Sorry, dad!" she called, wincing.

He left out a deep sigh and turned around to face Yang again. The blond was struggling to hold in another laugh, and Taiyang shook his.

"Alright... let's just... yeah, let's just leave it at this. I... I need a second to think..."

He trailed off and headed inside.

The background was filled with laughter while Weiss, Ruby, and Blake all blushed deeply.

"You really did break him, Rubes!" Yang called.

Ruby buried her face in Weiss' shoulder, groaning.

"I am _never_ going to live this down," she said.

"Nope!" Yang said, joining her three teammates.

Blake was about to speak, but a familiar, loud sound filled her ears.

An airship came into view and landed in the backyard for the second time in the past four days.

"What now?" Yang said, rolling her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Press f to pay respects to poor Ciel and Taiyang.


	7. Just When I'm Out

Oscar stepped out of the airship, giving his friends a sympathetic smile.

"What do you need now?" Winter asked, tapping her foot in frustration.

"What? The plan was for us to meet you back up here after we got Whitley and Maria. What makes you think that I need something?" Oscar asked.

" _Do_ you need something?" Weiss asked.

"Uh... yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked.

"We're collecting the relics."

"Okay," Ruby said, "let me go tell dad that we're leaving."

"Okay? Just like that? Didn't we just save the world? Why do we have something _else_ to do?!" Weiss snapped.

Ruby turned to face her.

"We're Huntresses in training, Weiss. This is what we do!"

She hesitated before giving Ruby a small smile.

"You're right. I'm just... worried."

"Why?" Blake asked.

Weiss' eyes darted to Yang.

"Angel, I'll be fine, don't worry. This'll be fun, and hopefully easy enough. They're just in the schools, right?"

"Uh, yeah. We're going to Shade first."

"Chop chop, we're leaving!" Fox called from the airship.

"Give us a sec, Fox!" Yang yelled.

Ruby raced inside.

"Hey, dad, we have to go, we'll be in touch!"

"What?!" Taiyang cried.

"We're gonna go maybe save the world again. Sorry I grossed you out earlier!"

"It's... it's alright, Ruby," he said, "Where are you going?"

"Shade Academy! Uncle Qrow, are you coming?" Ruby called.

"What? No... no, I think Elm and I are going to stay here, if that's okay with Taiyang."

"Yeah, you're more than welcome. Be careful, Rubes!" her father called.

"Okay! We'll try!"

She dashed back outside and saw that almost everyone was piled onto the airship again.

She groaned to herself.

"Are we sleeping on airships again?!" she sighed as she used her semblance to catch up with her friends and teammates, "I didn't miss this."

"I don't think anyone did," Weiss muttered as Ruby took the seat next to her.

"Wait, did Oscar say we were going to Shade Academy?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Yeah, why?" Yang asked.

"Because... that's where team SSSN is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have two options for Sun. I could give him the more expected ship... or I could be my normal self and give him the rarest of rare pairs. Which do you guys want?


	8. Reunion

Blake glanced out the window before turning back to her girlfriends.

"Are you sure you're alright, Yang?" she asked worriedly.

Yang sighed.

"Yes! I'm getting tired of you three asking me this."

"We're just worried," Weiss said quietly.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"I know, but don't be. I'm fine."

"How long, Neo!" Ruby called.

She held up five fingers.

"Five hours?"

She lowered one finger.

Ruby frowned in confusion as another dropped.

"What-"

Neo's final finger fell, and the airship struck the ground, jostling several of the airship's occupants.

"You gotta work on that landing, Neo!" Coco called.

Neo held up her middle finger.

"I'm sorry, she's a little gremlin," Ciel said.

Ruby scrambled to her feet, pulling Weiss behind her.

"We're back at school!"

"A different school," Weiss said.

Yang laughed quietly and Blake stood to follow the other two members of their team, dragging Yang behind her by the metal arm.

"Wait, you said Sun goes here?" Ruby asked, pulling to a stop.

"And Neptune?" Yang continued for her, frowning.

"Yeah, why?" Blake said.

"BLAKE!" a loud voice shouted.

Sun raced into the front of the school, throwing himself forward to hug her. His tail wagged excitedly behind him.

"It's so great to see you! It's been way too long!" he cried.

"Yeah," she said, patting him on the back in a slightly awkward way. She'd always been a more reserved person, and her time with the White Fang had just made her more so, but her teammates had helped her become more open, especially Ruby with her constant touching and affection.

"How've you guys been?!"

"As good as you can be running from the law, I guess," Yang said, laughing.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot about that! What happened?!"

"We saved the world. No biggy," Yang said smugly.

Sun finally pulled back from Blake and turned to look at her, wide eyed.

"Really?!"

"Uh, yeah. Kinda," Blake said awkwardly.

"Tell me _everything_!" Sun cried, tail wagging over his head.

"It's... a long story, and we'd really rather just take a rest," Ruby said.

Sun nodded, looking around. His gaze landed on Yang's arm and his eyes widened.

"Oh my dust! Are you alright?! What happened?!"

Yang drew her arm back slowly.

"Oh, right... that's a part of the story."

"How long ago did this happen?!"

"Four days ago."

" _Four?!_ " he cried.

"Yup! Pleasure to meet ya, Sun, I've been told a lot about you!" Nora said, holding out her hand happily.

He grinned and grabbed it, shaking her hand enthusiasitcally.

"Nora, right? I saw you fight against team RWBY in that food fight! That was awesome!"

Nora laughed and pulled her hammer from behind her back.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, how about you guys come inside! I'm sure Neptune would be happy to see you guys too!" Sun said, looping his arm around Blake's shoulders and pulling her toward the building.

Weiss sniffed, glaring at him. Ruby slipped her hand into Blake's.

"I've missed you two! And we'll get to know the rest of your team better too!" Ruby said.

Sun glanced at her and smiled broadly.

"Yeah! Who's all of this, by the way?" he said, gesturing at the rest of their party.

"I can do introductions!" Nora cried. She enjoyed going on her long rant like how she had with Taiyang.

"How about we go inside first, considering we're still _very_ wanted," Ciel said.

 _'Then maybe we shouldn't have landed a giant airship so nearby,'_ Neo signed.

"Right, right, come on!" he said, pulling Blake along with him. Everyone else followed behind the pair.

Ruby clutched Blake's hand and let herself skip at her side.

Blake glanced at her, frowning in confusion.

"Are you alright?" Blake whispered to her.

"Yup! Just happy to be here!" she said, though she glanced at Sun.

He smiled back at Ruby.

Weiss huffed.

Sun opened the door to his dorm room, pulling Blake inside enthusiastically.

"Hey, guys! Look who's here!" he called.

Neptune was the only other member of the team that was there, and Sun seemed surprised by that fact, but he smiled anyways.

"See!"

"Hey, Weiss," he said, smirking and giving her a wink.

She rolled her eyes, and Yang glared at the boy. Neptune seemed a little surprised at her reaction, and glanced at her friends.

"Who are all of these people?" he asked.

"Our friends," Ruby said, pulling Blake closer to her and out of Sun's grasp.

He seemed surprised, but didn't say or do anything about it.

"Blake, take out your locket," she hissed.

"What?"

"Your locket!"

Blake reached to her neck and pulled the chain, revealing the locket that had been hiding underneath her jacket and shirt.

"That better?"

Ruby nodded excitedly.

"Thanks! Love you!" she whispered.

Blake returned to the discussion, catching the tail end of Nora's introductions of her friends.

"-and that's Neopolitian. Yeah, that one."

Neo winked at Sun, and he grinned.

"Well, nice to meet you guys!" he said.

"Especially you, Gorgeous," Neptune said, smirking at Ciel.

Neo's eyes turned dangerous and she pulled her parasol out, the blade slicing through the air.

_'Six feet away at all times, pretty boy. If you aren't careful, it'll be six feet underground.'_

Penny translated for her with a confused expression, clearly not sure what the threat meant.

Neptune's eyes widened and he scrambled backwards.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," he said nervously.

_'Glad you understand.'_

She took Ciel's hand in her own, smirking.

Neptune tapped Yang on the shoulder.

"Which girls can I flirt with without being threatened with bodily harm?" he whispered.

"Well... Ilia probably wouldn't threaten you with **actual** harm, so I guess _maybbbeee_ Pyrrha? Don't hit on Nora, Jaune and Ren will beat you up, probably... Don't even look at Velvet... You already learned not to talk to Ciel..."

Neptune stared at her in shock.

"None of them?!"

"I guess not," Yang said, smirking.

"At least there's still Weiss," he muttered, almost to himself.

Yang watched him with narrowed eyes, but he didn't notice.

Instead, he made his way toward the former heiress, his classic grin on his face.

"Weiss, pleaseeee?" Ruby whind.

"Of course I'll do it, Ruby, but you don't have to worry."

Ruby looked at her pleadingly.

Weiss rolled her eyes and pulled out her locket. Ruby grinned at the action, clapping her hands.

"Thanks, Weiss!" she said before dashing back to Blake, who was talking with Blake and Ilia.

"Hey, Weiss," Neptune said.

"Hello, Neptune," she said. Beside her, Winter stepped up at her side and both glanced at one another.

"Is this your sister? She's just as beautiful as you are," Neptune said, winking.

Winter stared at him unblinkingly.

He coughed awkwardly, turning to face Weiss again. His eyes landed on her locket, and he raised an eyebrow.

"You steal more hearts since we last met?" he asked.

"Uh," Weiss blushed and glanced across the room, finding Ruby smiling at her broadly, "yeah. I guess you could say that."

Neptune's eyes widened.

"Oh? Who?" he asked uncertainly.

She let out a quiet sigh and opened the locket.

"Aw, that's a sweet team bonding exercise," he said.

Winter rolled her eyes and set a hand on her awkward sister's shoulder, stopping her from speaking.

"Mr. Vasilias, I would advice you to stop flirting with my sister, considering her girlfriends are all glaring at you as we speak, and they are about a second from coming over here."

Neptune glanced over his shoulder, causing all three of Weiss' girlfriends to look away quickly.

"So... the locket...," he trailed off while Weiss nodded.

"Oh. Well then... I apologize," he muttered.

"It's alright," she said.

"There's a lot of people here that you might want to stay away from flirting with," Winter said warningly.

He nodded.

"I'm going to go... check on Sun," he said slowly.

"I'll come with. Yang seems... frustrated," Weiss said.

Sun was wagging his tail back and forth, focused on Blake.

"So, how've you been?" he asked.

"Pretty alright, I guess," Yang said, shrugging.

"Great! We've all been really happy together!" Ruby said happily.

"That's great!"

"Have you started seeing anyone?" Yang asked, arms crossed.

"What? Nah!" Sun said happily. "How about you?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely," Yang said.

"Yup!" Ruby said.

Blake glanced at her teammates.

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Sun, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.

He wagged his tail excitedly.

"Yeah! Sure!"

"Yang and Ruby are hinting at this, but you're not seeming to pick it up... We're dating."

She showed him her locket, and his eyes widened.

"All four of you?"

She nodded.

He grinned.

"I knew there was something weird going on with you four last time! That's great for you!" he said, pulling her in for a tight hug.

When they pulled apart, Blake gave him a small smile.

"Sorry they were acting so rude. They just seemed to think you were hitting on me or something."

Sun laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Haha, yeah... weird. Anyways, let's get back to them before they bore a hole in my head with their glares," he said.

Ruby smiled as the two came back over, and she slipped her hand into Blake's.

"Hey, Kit-Kat," Yang said.

"You two can stop it. I told him."

They both smiled, and Ruby set her head on Blake's shoulder gently.

Neptune trailed away, sure that Sun knew now from the slight disappointment in his eyes, and looked at Penny.

He count either count his loses... or he could try one more time.

He stepped toward the short redhead, Penny, and leaned against the wall with one hand.

"Hello," he said flirtatiously, "My name's Neptune, but you can call me honey."

"Salutations, Neptune!" she said.

He was shocked that she hadn't responded to the flirting, so he decided to try again.

"Did you fall from heaven? Cause you're an angel."

"I'm from Atlas!"

Winter stepped up beside her, and Neptune glanced at her, an awkward smile on his lips.

"Girlfriend Winter! I was just talking to Neptune! He asked if I was an angel."

"He did, did he?" her gaze landed on Neptune, eyes like ice, cold and frigid.

"I'm just gonna go," he said.

"Why did he leave?" Penny asked.

"I'll tell you later."

Neptune groaned.

"Are there no single women in this group?" he muttered to himself.

"Nope," Nora said as she passed by.

"Tough luck," Jaune said, clapping a hand over his shoulder before following after Nora.

Neptune groaned.


	9. Wingwoman

Yang set her hand on Sun's shoulder. Her teammates were talking to Neptune, and she had pulled Sun away.

"You alright, bud?"

He glanced at her.

"Yeah, why? It's great to see you guys again! Of course I'm alright!"

"I saw how you looked at her last time we were together. Trust me, I was watching."

"Listen, Yang, I'm not going to-"

"I know. That's why I'm checking on you. You're a good guy, Sun, and I think you deserve someone who makes you happy... just not Blake."

He smiled at her, tail wagging as he did so.

"That's really sweet, Yang! Hopefully I'll find someone at some point."

"No, no. We're not leaving this up to chance. I'm gonna find you someone!"

"Yang, really, it's alright."

"Nope! Too late! So, tell me your type. Is it just someone like Blake? Only girls or boys too? Are humans cool or only faunus?"

Sun blinked at her.

"You're serious about this?"

She nodded, and he grinned.

"Alright! Umm... it doesn't have to be someone like Blake, I guess dudes can't be hot too, and of course it doesn't have to be a faunus. I'm not racist."

Yang nodded contemplatively, turning to face the rest of the room's occupants.

"Have you considered Neptune?"

"Dude, that's my best friend!"

"Blake was my best friend."

"I don't like Neptune."

"Lame! That woulda been so much easier."

Sun laughed, shaking his head.

"Does Nora interest you?"

"I thought you said she was dating someone."

"Yeah, two someones."

Sun laughed, shaking his head.

"I dunno, Yang. I've never really considered that poly stuff... also, how would I get _three_ people to fall for me?"

"I don't know, ask Weiss and Blake."

He laughed.

"Okay... how about you just point out anyone you find interesting, even if you can't date them. That way I can get a sense of your type," Yang said.

He nodded, grinning.

"Thanks, Yang. This... means a lot, actually."

"It better!"

She threw her arm around his shoulders and dragged him forward.

"Winter? She wouldn't be into you, doesn't like what all's going on down there," she gestured at his crotch and he laughed, "plus, she's monogamous. She's weird like that."

Sun covered his mouth to stop himself from making a loud snort.

Winter watched Neo with a sort of displeasure and disappointment.

"Too stern," he said.

"Penny? She's with Winter by the way, so she's also off the table," she gestured at the mechanical girl.

She was grinning enthusiastically at Ruby, talking about something as she bounced on the tips of her toes.

"Uh... maybe too excitable. Wouldn't mix well with me. Too out of control. I'd probably need someone to hold me in check."

"I see. How about... Ren?"

Ren stood stiffly, watching Nora as she raced across the room, talking to everyone.

"Is he a robot?"

"No, that's Penny," Yang said dismissively.

"You're telling me that _she_ ," he gestured at a laughing Penny, "is a robot, but **he** ," he gestured at the unblinking Ren, "isn't?!"

Yang nodded.

"How about Ilia?"

She colored as Yang said her name.

"Is something wrong, Yang?" she asked.

"She's kinda timid. Cute though."

"She _might_ not be so interested in that stuff of yours either. Also, she and Pyrrha are monogamous... I think. Who knows."

"Neopolitan?"

The criminal winked at Sun.

"Uh..."

"Yeah, I'm gonna just steer you away from that."

"Thanks."

"And I'm not going to even mention her girlfriend, for fear of having my other arm torn off."

Sun snorted.

"Velvet?"

"Yes, Yang?" she asked, turning away from Coco.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"She seems nice enough."

"You've only said anything positive about Ilia and Velvet. I'm starting to think you **are** a bit racist."

Sun rolled his eyes.

"Nora's nice enough, I guess."

Yang stroked at her imaginary beard.

"Let me think about it."

"This is really nice of you, Yang."

"I know."

"Seriously, thank you," Sun said.

"It's no problem, really."

Sun grinned, looking around the room.

Maybe he _would_ find someone some day... and, who knows, maybe Yang would even be able to help!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone got any bets on who Sun's gonna end up with?


	10. Sword in the Stone

"So why did you guys come here? I mean, other to catch up," Sun said, striking a pose and wagging his tail.

"We need to steal the relic from your school," Yang responded.

"What?"

"There's this magic sword that your school has. We need it."

"Magic?!" Neptune cried.

"There's... a lot of things you two don't know about this world," Blake said slowly.

"You'll tell us later," Sun said, waving his hand dismissively, "right now... we're helping you guys steal a magic sword!"

"Yeah!" Nora screamed.

He held up his hand, and the two high-fived.

"So," Sun rubbed his hands together enthusiastically, "how are we doing this?"

"Count me _out_!" Neptune said.

"Come on!" Sun called, whining slightly.

"Nope! Not getting my hands dirty! I already left one school, I'm not getting myself kicked out of this one!"

"Fine. Be a coward. I'm coming with!" Sun said happily.

"It must still be in the vault," Oscar said, "so we just need to figure out where that is."

"Well-"

"Give me a second, I need to... think," Oscar said pointedly.

"How's that gonna help? We should go searching for it!" Sun called.

"I know where it is!" Oscar cried.

"What? How?!" Sun called.

"I just... know, alright?" Oscar said.

"Yeah, let's leave it at that," Yang said. She put her arm around Sun's shoulders and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I'll tell you later."

"Alright," he said.

Ruby jumped up and down excitedly.

"Okay! Let's finish this! Only two more relics to go, and then we can put this whole mess behind us! We can just... move on with our lives!" Ruby said.

"Did something happen?!" Sun asked worriedly.

"Sun, I lost an arm. Of course something happened! Now come on, we have a magic floating sword to steal."

"We don't actually know if it floats," Winter clarified for Sun.

"Oh."

-

"So, what's the plan? Do we sneak in? Get a disguise? Wait until tonight?" Sun asked.

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at one another.

 _'We're just breaking in right now, right?'_ Neo asked, translated by Penny.

"Oh, for sure. That's why we left Whitley and Maria in the airship," Yang said.

"We're just... barging in? In right? In the middle of the day?!" Sun cried.

"That a problem?" Blake asked.

He grinned.

"Absolutely not!"

Nora let out a loud laugh.

"See?! _This_ is my kinda guy!" she said, punching him on the arm.

Sun rubbed his arm, but grinned at her.

"Alright! Let's go!"

"That's the spirit! Lead the way, Ozzy!" Nora cried.

He took a deep breath before stepping into the hallway.

"Come, we need to hurry!" he hissed.

He ran down the hallway, and the other members of the party raced after him, Yang grabbing Sun by the tail and tugging him forward. He let out a shriek before tugging his tail out of her hand and chasing after her.

"Yang, don't ever do that again!" he growled.

She laughed, sticking her tongue out at him before turning back around.

"So we're really just doing this right now?" he asked.

"Yup!"

"Is _this_ what you guys have been doing?!"

"More or less. Most stuff has been _way_ more dangerous than this," Yang said.

"And _Blake's_ been doing this sort of thing?!"

Yang grinned.

"Would **not** have expected that from her."

"She's pretty awesome, alright," Yang said.

"Stop flirting, we're stealing," Blake snapped.

"I would never flirt with him, Kit-Kat. You and Weiss are the only ones for me."

"I meant stop flirting with me, Yang," Blake responded, scoffing.

Sun laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that you four are together," he said.

"You're jealous," Yang sang.

As they raced through the hallways, several students paused to stare at them.

They couldn't be blamed for their shock, considering the face that more than a dozen strangers were running at full speed down the hall toward the center of the school.

"How far is it?" Ruby asked.

"Just around the corner... there! It's right there!" Oscar said, skidding to a stop. Ruby almost ran into his back and knocked him over, stopping at the final moment. But Yang was not as graceful, considering she slammed into her sister's back, followed by Sun. Ren's hand shot out and he grabbed Sun by the tail, halting him just a moment before he could join the pile of his friends on the ground.

Sun got his balance and turned around.

"Thanks, man!"

Ren nodded, giving him the barest of smiles.

"I hope that I didn't insult you by grabbing your tail."

Sun's tail curled around Ren's wrist, moving it up and down like a handshake.

"You didn't! Nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Sun."

"Lie Ren."

Sun pulled his tail off of Ren's hand and reached it down, grabbing Yang around the waist with his tail and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on, Rubes. If you lay on Oscar any longer, you'll have two jealous Schnees on your hands."

She helped her sister up, and Ruby glared at her.

Oscar scrambled to his feet and threw open the door in front of him.

"It's in here!" he called over his shoulder.

He raced inside, followed by the rest of their party.

"I see it!"

"Which one is this, again?" Ruby asked.

"The sword of something," Yang replied.

"Destruction. The sword of destruction," Blake supplied.

Oscar hurtled up the steps, setting off dozens of alarms, and grabbed the relic.

"You'd think they'd have better security," Ciel muttered.

"We did kind of surprise them," Coco responded.

Oscar grabbed the sword.

"Got it! Let's get out of here before we have to fight!" he called.

"Awww! I wanted to hit **someone**!" Nora cried.

Sun glanced at her.

"Blake, your friends are insane."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment," Nora said.

"Is Maria waiting for us in the same place?" Ilia asked.

"I'd assume, but you never know with her," Coco said.

"Whitley wouldn't have let her leave, so they'll be there," said Oscar.

"Unless she threw Whitley off the ship for being too annoying," Winter muttered.

"I wouldn't blame her," said Coco.

"Wait, where are we going?!" Sun cried.

"To the airship!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Where are we going after that?!" Sun questioned.

"Beacon, right?" Ruby asked, glancing at Weiss. She nodded.

"Wait, we're leaving for Beacon?!" Sun called.

"You don't have to, Sun," Blake said.

He scoffed.

"Of course I'm coming! I'm not letting you guys have another awesome story I'm not a part of!" he said.

"Then move faster, Sun. Move it or lose it!" Yang cried.

He was wondering if he should regret his decision, and that thought only grew louder as the teachers, Huntsmen, Huntresses, and the rest of faculty started to chase him. Even if he didn't want to come, he would have had no choice now that they were being pursued.


	11. To Beacon!

Sun weaved through the hallways, following after the mismatched group of students and... criminals, he supposed.

Maybe he shouldn't have let himself get dragged into this sort of thing. With a group of wanted criminals. That were stealing a "magical sword" from a vault... under the school... that he had never heard of before.

But he trusted team RWBY, and he would do whatever they needed him to do... even if it looked insane and felt insane and probably **was** insane.

He fell back to run beside another faunus, glancing at her.

"So, what's your name again?" he asked.

"Ilia," she said, looking over her shoulder to check and see if anyone had gotten any closer.

"I'm Sun. Blake's probably mentioned me a few times."

"Twice," Ilia responded.

Sun grimaced.

"Sounds like her."

Ilia glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You like her?"

Sun's eyes widened as she looked at him.

"Umm... I did, yeah. How could you..."

"I did too."

Sun laughed.

"Seems like everyone falls for her, huh?"

Ilia grinned at him.

"You've got a point."

"You still..."

"No, no. I'm over her, now. I'm dating Pyrrha," Ilia gestured at the tall redhead, who glanced over, a small smile on her lips.

"Don't worry. It gets better."

Sun grinned at her.

"Yeah... thanks."

Ilia gave him a small grin as they left the building.

Gunshots fired over their heads.

Neo turned around, running backwards, and held up both of her middle fingers at the people chasing them.

"Neo, if you get caught because you're flipping people off, I swear I'm not going to help break you out," Ciel snapped.

Neo groaned, silently, and turned back around.

_'I would say that you're ruining my dreams, but, Gorgeous, you are my dreams.'_

"Neo, what did I say about flirting during battles?"

_'Not to...'_

"That's right."

Sun glanced at the pair, frowning.

"I gotta say, I don't understand those two."

"I don't think anyone does," Ilia responded.

"I don't know, I think they're cute," Pyrrha said.

Sun scoffed.

Ilia glanced at her, grinning.

"You're so sweet, Pyrrha."

Sun looked away from the obscenely adorable scene. It seemed as if everyone else in this group was sickeningly in love with _someone_ and he kinda felt outta place.

"See? You'll be alright. You'll find someone," Ilia said.

Before he could respond, the person in front of him, Winter Schnee, skidded to a stop.

The gunfire increased, a bullet striking Pyrrha in the back. She glanced behind her, wincing.

"Get on board!" Ilia snappped, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the airship a few meters in front of them. In the hasty escape with so many people following them, Sun hadn't even noticed that the airship was in front of them.

He hopped on board, almost getting pushed to the side as everyone else scrambled onto the ship.

"How many times have you guys done this?!" Sun called.

"This has to be at least the fifth time," Yang said offhandedly.

"Neo said to get out of the pilot's seat, old lady!" Penny called.

"Neo, stop making Penny insult people for you!" Ciel chided.

Penny frowned in worry.

"I insulted her?" she asked in concern.

"Don't worry about it," Winter said.

Sun shook his head in disbelief.

"You guys really are insane."

"Thanks," Blake said sarcastically.

"Trying to save the world will do that to you," Weiss said.

"No, we _actually_ saved the world. Get it right," Fox snapped.

"You barely did anything," Yatsu muttered.

"I helped save the world. That's what mattered."

"Ruby did, like, everything," Coco said.

"Can you guys just let me _have this_?!" Fox said.

"No," Velvet said.

He gaped.

"Even you?!"

"Even me."

Yang took a seat beside her sister on the airship, their party members all hurrying to do the same.

Sun looked for a place to sit down, but found that there wasn't enough room.

"That's something you get used to after enough of these," Yang said.

He rolled his eyes, taking a seat by team RWBY on the floor. Ilia glanced at him, raising an eyebrow and shooting her gaze to Blake.

Sun met her gaze and shook his head.

She grabbed Pyrrha's hand and dragged her girlfriend to sit beside the monkey faunus.

"Hey, Ilia," Blake said, giving her a small smile, "Pyrrha."

"So you went to which school?" Ilia asked Sun.

"Haven Academy! You?"

"I... actually didn't go to any of the schools."

"How did you meet Blake, then? You two are old friends, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, we are. We met in the...," Ilia trailed off and glanced at Blake. She smiled at her, nodding. Pyrrha put a hand on her knee comfortingly. "White Fang. We met in the White Fang."

Sun's eyes widened.

"Oh! Wow! That's... are you still a member or...?"

"What? No, of course not. Didn't you hear that it got taken down?"

"Oh yeah! It did!" Sun said.

"That was us, by the way," Fox said from across the airship, gesturing at his teammates.

"Stop bragging," Coco said. "Though he is right. We did take down the White Fang."

Velvet sighed.

"I'm sorry for my teammates," she said to Sun.

He laughed.

"How about you two?" he asked, gesturing at Pyrrha and Ilia.

"Ilia came to kidnap Blake, but we captured her. And then we were trying to interrogate her, and she would only talk to Pyrrha!" Ruby said happily.

Ilia flushed.

"Yeah..."

Sun burst out laughing.

"There's... a lot of things going on in this group," Blake said slowly.

A loud voice called out through the airship.

"You should have been more careful!" Whitley's voice said.

"It worked, didn't it?" Oscar asked, trying to comfort him.

"It might not have! And if you all had gotten caught, who would have busted you out? Me and that old lady?!" Whitley snapped.

"He looks just like Weiss," Sun muttered.

"That's because he's her brother," Ilia whispered.

His eyes widened.

"There's a lot of drama and interconnections in this group. You should ask Nora about them some time," Pyrrha said.

Sun nodded silently.

"We were fine, Whit-Whit."

"But what if you _weren't_?!"

Oscar glanced at Yang, who ggestured for him to move forward.

Oscar rolled his eyes, muttering, "Let's see if this actually works," to himself.

He leaned forward and connected his lips with Whitley's.

Blake reached out a hand to cover Weiss' eyes.

When Oscar pulled back, Whitley seemed a bit dazed, and Oscar took the chance to pull the other boy into the two seats he had reserved.

"Don't worry, we're fine, and we're almost done," Oscar said comfortingly.

Sun shook his head, glancing at Ilia. She gave him a small smile.

"You'll have to get used to that too. Seems likes almost everyone here is sickeningly in love," she said. Pyrrha laughed, wrapping an arm around the faunus' waist.

Sun rolled his eyes. It seemed there was a lot of _exceedingly_ odd things he would have to get used to. And, honestly? He couldn't wait!


	12. Thank You

"Mark my words, Wukong, I'm going to get you a date," Yang said.

"I think that everyone you know is on this airship," said Weiss.

"That's not true! Uncle Qrow and dad aren't here!" Ruby said.

"Do you really wanna set Sun up with either of them?" Yang asked sarcastically.

Ruby hesitated before shaking her head.

"Why did she pause?" Blake asked.

Ruby didn't respond, and the cat faunus sighed, shaking her head.

"Yang, I'm pretty sure everyone on this airship is in love with someone," Sun said, shaking his head.

Yang rubbed at her imaginary beard.

"Didn't seem to stop Jaune from getting a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, for that matter," Pyrrha said.

"True," Ruby said.

Sun shook his head, jostling his hair.

"Seriously, Yang, I'm fine on my own."

She rolled her eyes.

"Just watch your back. Love will get you, and you'll only have me to blame," Yang said.

"Something that kind really shouldn't sound threatening," Sun said.

Yang shrugged.

"She almost always sounds threatening," Ilia told him.

Yang grinned.

"Unless I'm talking to these two," she said, gesturing at Weiss and Blake.

Sun rolled his eyes.

"Like I said, everyone's sickeningly in love."

Pyrrha gave him a consoling look, setting a hand on his leg.

Ilia glanced to the front of the airship.

"Hey, Neo, how long until we're at Beacon?" she asked.

Neopolitan turned to Ciel, taking her hands off of the controls. Her girlfriend took the controls from her so she could use her hands to speak.

'Why does everyone ask me things when they can't understand my response?'

"Because we're trying to connect with you," Pyrrha said.

Neo jumped, looking over her shoulder.

'Did... did you just understand what I said?' she signed in confusion.

Pyrrha nodded.

"I've been studying sigh language."

Ilia adopted a look of concentration on her face as she raised her hands.

'Yes. Our team has... been learning... sign language together.'

Neo blinked at them in shock.

'So has team CFVY,' Pyrrha added.

'You... have been?'

Pyrrha and Ilia nodded.

'Thank you. Can you... tell Jaune I want to speak with him?'

Ilia turned and got their team leader's attention, gesturing toward the front of the airship.

He stood, disentangling himself from his girlfriend and boyfriend.

He jogged to the front of the airship.

"Are you really going to leave me to fly this thing?" Ciel asked.

Neo nodded, and she sighed.

"Then move, I need to sit there if I'm going to crash this thing properly."

"Are we actually going to crash?" Sun asked.

"No, of course not," Pyrrha paused. "Probably not."

Sun shook his head.

Ciel stood and moved toward the pilot's seat. Neo smirked, reaching forward to wrap her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

"What are you-"

Neo pulled Ciel into her lap, making her squeal quietly.

'That better, Gorgeous?'

The airship hit a large spurt of turbulence while Neo settled Ciel down on her laps.

"Who would have thought that the mute girl would never shut up," Ciel muttered.

Jaune walked up, glancing between the couple.

"Do you want me to just go back there again or-"

Neo gestured for him to have a seat in the co-pilot's chair, where Ciel had been sitting until a moment ago.

'I wanted to say thank you.'

Jaune frowned in confusion.

"What?"

'Did you not understand me?'

Jaune adopted a look of concentration.

"No, I did, I was just shocked. Could you talk slower, by the way? I'm having trouble keeping up."

Neo barely kept herself from rolling her eyes.

'I wanted to say thank you for saving Ciel. I haven't had the chance to say it to you before. I owe you...,' Neo paused and glanced at her girlfriend, 'I owe you everything. If you ever need anything, please tell me. I'll do anything you need.'

Jaune blinked in surprise before slowly starting to respond.

'You do... don't have to do everything-anything for me.'

Neo reached out a hand and put it on Jaune's chest, touching her own with her other hand.

'I owe you everything. If you ever need anything, I insist that you ask. I'll kill someone for you.'

Jaune's eyes widened, and he couldn't tell if she was joking.

The serious look in her eyes made him think that she wasn't.

"Thank you, Neo. But you really don't have to-"

Neo grabbed his hand with her own.

He trailed off before starting agan.

"Thank you. I will remember that, and will tell you if anything happens."

Neo smiled and nodded.

"Can you take the controls again?" Ciel asked, sounding slightly uncomfortable.

Neo reached her arms around Ciel's waist to grab the controls.

Jaune excused himself hurriedly.

Neo gave him a wide smile and a wink.

He smiled back at her before returning to the back of the airship.

"Neo, let me up," Ciel said.

Neo shook her head.

Ciel sighed, but she smiled slightly.

-

"You know what? I take it back. I see it," Sun said.

"I told you so," Pyrrha said with a small smile.

"I think they're gross. People shouldn't do that sort of thing in public," Weiss said.

"You literally sat in Yang's lap on the way to Haven," Blake responded, not looking up from her scroll.

Weiss flushed.

Ruby giggled, putting her head on Weiss' shoulder.

Sun cleared his throat.

“So why are we going to Beacon again? I thought it was still being rebuilt.”

“It is,” Blake said, “but we’re not going there to learn.”

“Then why are we going there?!”

“To steal more crap,” Yang said.


	13. The Final Vault

Neo leaned forward, putting her head on Ciel's shoulder.

"What are you planning."

Neo gave her a look that seemed to say _'Can't I just want to be near my girlfriend?'_

"You always have ulterior motives."

Neo grinned and kissed Ciel's neck. She squealed in shock, wiggling in her girlfriend's lap.

"Get off!"

Neo snickered silently, pulling back and shaking her head.

"You're a piece of work, ya know that?" Ciel asked.

Neo nodded.

Ciel laughed, leaning backwards and kissing Neo.

"Can you _please_ just fly the airship?!" Coco snapped.

"She's getting a taste of her own medicine," Fox said. Yatsu smirked.

"I hate all of you."

Velvet glanced at Coco.

"Except you. You can stay."

-

Neo sat the airship down on the ground, turning it off immediately.

She grabbed her girlfriend around the waist quickly afterwards, turning Ciel around and connecting their lips.

Coco scoffed, rolling her eyes, and Neo raised up her middle finger.

Ciel didn't open her eyes, reaching out to grab the criminal's hand and pulling the middle digit back down.

"Are they even breathing?" Sun asked.

"I don't know. My current guess is that Neopolitan is actually a demon that doesn't need to breathe," Coco said.

Neo pulled back from Ciel just long enough to glare at the team leader.

_'Can't you shut up for once in your life?'_

"Probably not," Coco responded.

Sun shook his head, and Ilia grabbed him by the wrist.

"Just leave them alone. They deserve some happiness," she said.

"What happened?"

"Ciel almost died about," Ilia paused for a moment, counting on her hands, "ten days ago? Babe, was it ten days ago?"

"I thought it was nine," Pyrrha said.

"Doesn't matter. She almost died a few days ago, that's what matters."

"What happened?!"

"Did she get stabbed? I think she got stabbed. Jaune saved her life through his semblance."

Sun shook his head.

"This is definitely too much for me to keep track of."

"That's how I felt when I met them, and the only thing that happened then was team RWBY's relationship."

"Things did seem to escalate quickly," Pyrrha said.

"Yeah. First you almost died, then everything kinda snowballed."

"She almost died too?" Sun asked, pointing at Pyrrha in shock.

"Sun, we all almost died, several times over."

He nodded slowly.

"Right. I keep forgetting that."

"I know I won't. Ever," Fox said as he passed by.

"Stop being so dramatic," Coco said.

"I literally almost died. There is nothing else worth being dramatic about."

"You're lucky I haven't killed you myself yet," said Coco.

Sun felt his Aura telling him something, and he glanced up. He found Yang staring at him intensely.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Just thinking."

"Drop it, Yang."

"Never!"

He sighed, shaking his head.

Ilia reached up to pat him on the shoulder.

"Another thing to get used to? When someone says they're going to help you, it's not something you can get out of. It's a happy, peaceful threat."

"That... makes no sense," Sun said.

"It doesn't until you've gotten to know these people."

"You say 'these people' like you're not a part of our team and family. News flash, Ilia, you're already on the Christmas card!" Nora called.

Ilia gaped at her.

"What? Christmas is in several months, and we haven't posed for pictures."

"And that matters... why?" Nora asked.

"Never mind. I'm glad I'm in the picture," Ilia said.

-

Oscar felt his hand starting to sweat. He wiped it on his jacket awkwardly. His hand was shaking just slightly, and he tried to stop it, but he couldn't.

Whitley reached out his hand, threading his fingers through Oscar's own.

Oscar jumped, glancing at his boyfriend.

"Hey, you don't have to do that. I know my hand's... really sweaty, and-"

Whitley squeezed his hand tightly.

"I don't care, you idiot. I like you anyways."

Oscar gave him a thankful smile, leaning closer, setting his head on Whitley's shoulder.

"Thank you," he breathed.

-

The remaining Grimm around them seemed to be extremely focused on their group, which really wasn't a surprise considering the fact that they had not one, not two, but three of the four relics with them.

Ruby stepped closer to Oscar.

"Everyone, keep the Grimm from getting to Oscar. He's our main priority."

Sun followed the instructions, glancing at Pyrrha and Ilia.

"What's so important about those relic thingies?"

"When they're reunited, the world will either end or... I don't know, something," Nora said from in front of him, pulling her hammer out from behind her back and swinging it at the nearest Grimm.

"So... why would we ever collect them together considering there's a chance it might end the world?!" Sun asked.

"Because they need to be eventually brought back together, I guess," Jaune said, shrugging.

"So you guys are just... always down with this sort of thing? You don't care about the possibility of death and stuff?" Sun asked.

"Oh we definitely care. But... at some point, other things are more important than the chance of death," Yang said.

"Dang it, Sun! We just had her back to normal, now you've got her back to her depressing self again!" Ruby called, shooting another Grimm in the face.

Neo reached out to grab Ciel's hand, pulling her to the side.

_'Gorgeous, I think I should stay outside while you guys do... whatever it is you're going to have to do.'_

"What? Why?"

_'If they're going to be judging the entire human and faunus species by the people inside there, then it's a horrible idea for me to go. I'm... not a great person. I would hate to screw the whole world over.'_

Ciel grabbed her hands, and Neo raised an eyebrow.

"When we met... I thought you might be conflicted or even complicated. Then I grew to like you, and thought you might be an alright person. And then I fell in love with you, and I thought you might maybe, just maybe, be a good person."

Neo looked at her pointedly, as if asking if there was a reason for Ciel to be saying all of this.

"But now, I know. You're a good person, Neo. Your past doesn't define you."

Neo looked uncertain, and Ciel leaned forward, pulling her in for a kiss.

Neo wrapped her arms around Ciel's waist, but one hand rested on her parasol, which she raised up, stabbing an approaching Grimm through the chest and causing it to burst into ash and dust, which sprinkled above the pair just as they pulled away.

"Neo, that was gross," Ciel said, blowing a bit of the remnants of the ash away from her.

_'I saved your life, and you just complain that it was gross?'_

Ciel laughed quietly, tugging her away by the hand to follow the rest of their party.

They stepped into the academy, several of the students looking around.

"This place is... entirely different than I remember it being," Yang said.

Ruby snorted.

"Of course it is! It's been shut down for forever! And Grimm have overwhelmed it!" she said.

"I don't know... it looks kind of familiar," Pyrrha said, running a hand across the wall as they walked inside.

Ilia grabbed Pyrrha's hand, pulling her away from it.

"Don't get distracted, babe. There's Grimm everywhere, I don't want you to get hurt," she said.

"It's alright, Pyrrha. I can watch your back," he said, pulling out his weapon.

Ilia smiled at him, shaking her head.

"Thank you, Sun, but I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. Ilia is just a worrier," Pyrrha said.

"You'd be a worrier too if your girlfriend had almost died twice," Ilia said.

Pyrrha sighed quietly, a suffering but fond expression on her face.

"Where's the vault?" Ruby asked.

"It's that way," Pyrrha said.

"You've been?" Yang asked.

"Where do you think I got my Maiden powers, Yang?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh yeah! I forgot that happened here! So much has happened since that, huh?"

"I don't think it's that. I think you just have the worst memory ever," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Why are we dating again?" Yang asked.

Weiss huffed, crossing her arms.

"Oh yeah...," Yang reached out and looped her arm around Weiss' waist, leaning down for a quick peck on the lips. "It's because I love you!"

Weiss flushed.

"Yang, we're in public."

"What, are you worried that the Grimm around us are going to talk?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Plus, even their dad has seen Ruby and I making out. You'll be fine with them seeing you guys kiss for the umpteenth time," Blake said.

They took another turn and Oscar opened a back door that many of the students hadn't seen before. They stepped into the vault, looking around.

Pyrrha squeezed Ilia's hand in her own almost nervously.

"Are you okay?" Ilia whispered.

Pyrrha nodded slowly.

"Yeah... yeah. It's just that... there's a lot of memories I associate with this vault."

"I know. Me too," Ilia whispered, pulling closer to her girlfriend and leaning against her arm. She wasn't tall enough to put her head against her shoulder, but she settled for the upper bicep.

There was an air of anxiety as the group drew closer to the center of the vault, where Oscar revealed the door to the final relic.

Pyrrha stepped forward, Ilia on her arm. She pressed her palm against the door, and watched as it started to glow around them.

When it slid open, they were all met with the sight of the last relic; the Crown of Choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of this series, I know more useless RWBY facts than is probably healthy.
> 
> For example: Did you know that Neo's 4 feet and 10 inches tall (1.47 meters) in her heels? Her weapon is also named Hush (which is way funnier than it should be)


	14. The Return

Pyrrha's heart hammered in her chest, her heart constricting tightly. Ilia clutched her hand tightly, wrapping her other arm around the redhead's waist.

"Are we sure about this?" Weiss asked worriedly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Ozpin said that he needs to finish this," Oscar said.

"I thought Ozpin was dead," Sun whispered to Nora.

"Kind of. I'll have to explain it to you later. He'll probably be dead again by then, though, so I don't know."

Sun ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"You're seriously going to have to explain this whole thing to me later."

Nora grinned enthusiastically.

"Yes! I can't wait!" she said.

Nora's smile faded as Oscar stepped forward, grabbing the crown with one hand.

When the crown joined the other relics, each of them started to glow, lifting into the air.

Oscar almost stumbled back, but Ozpin calmed him down. He reached over and pushed Whitley backward.

"Be careful, Whitley," he muttered.

Before Whitley could respond, the relics all glowed brilliantly, blinding all of them.

When the light subsided, two tall figures stood in front of them. One was a bright gold color and the other was purple with twisting horns.

"Ozma, you have finally reunited the relics," the golden one said, looking down at Oscar.

Oscar fell to the ground, crying out in pain and holding his head in pain.

Whitley dropped to his knees beside him.

"Oscar! Oscar, are you okay? What's wrong?"

The farm boy suddenly writhed in pain, his body shooting to a sitting position with his eyes opened with, blazing golden.

A moment later, in the brilliant glow he cast, another form appeared. It took Oscar a moment ot recognize him. It was Ozma. The original one, that is.

Oscar fell back to the ground, panting.

"What happened to him?" Whitley asked, looking up at the brothers with a pleading look in his eyes.

"We removed Ozma's soul from his body. It can be a painful process," the god of light said.

Oscar finally caught his breath and sat up, putting his hand on Whitley's own.

"It's alright, Whit. Don't worry. I'm fine."

Whitley nodded slowly, helping Oscar to his feet.

"Do you really believe that humans are now ready for their judgement?" the purple one asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at them.

"Humanity, in all of my time as immortal, has never been as pure as it is now," Ozma said as he stood, helped to his feet by Sun.

"What makes you so sure of this?" the golden one asked.

"Despite my numerous deceptions and times I betrayed them, they helped save me, and the world."

The two brothers grabbed one another's hands, their eyes falling shut.

Each member in the vault suddenly shivered, their backs stiffening. The intense feeling of judgment passed through each one of them, as the gods looked into their very souls.

When they'd finished, their eyes opened again.

"The people you've brought before us are as pure of heart as humans can be," the golden one said.

"But we have yet to look at the rest of the world," the purple continued, glaring.

Neo looked up, her eyes wide.

 _'Wait, what? All of us?'_ she found herself signing. She instantly regretted it when their gazes landed on her. She curled in on herself, glancing at Ciel.

"Yes. Each of you is as pure of heart as those we saw before the dark ages. More so, even," said the golden brother.

The purple brother grabbed the other's hand, and each of their eyes fell shut.

"Ozma, we have looked into the hearts of those around the world," the dark god said.

"And what have you found?" Ozma asked desperately.

"You were right to bring the relics together and summon us back. This world is truly one that we would be proud to preside over," the light god said.

Ozma started to cry.

"You may rest now, child," the light god said, setting a hand on his shoulder. He slowly disappeared in a cloud of golden dust.

"Oz?" Oscar asked, tears filling his eyes.

"You'll be alright without me, Oscar. And I'll see you when the time is right."

"When's that?" Oscar asked desperately, holding Oz's hands in his own as he disappeared in the cloud of gold.

"After."

"After what?"

"Everything."

Oz slipped from his hands, and Oscar sniffled, watching where he had disappeared.

Whitley put his hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered gently.

Oscar sniffled, looking up at Whitley.

"Thank you."

The gods watched them closely. When none asked for Oz back, a small smile grew on both of their lips.

"Is there anything else you need us to do?" Oscar asked, staring up at the gods from where he kneeled.

"No, rest now, young ones," the light god said. "All of you."

"You deserve all of the rest in the world," the dark god said.

"We will be with the world now, in the shadows and the background," the light god paused, looking at all of them, "but we will be with you all especially."

"Is there anything you desire?" the dark one asked.

"I thought you said that, once you returned, we should ask nothing from you two," Oscar said warily.

"We are willing to give you something now, as a sort of welcome home gift," the light god said.

"Shouldn't we be welcoming you home?" Yang asked. Weiss kicked her in the shin, muttering something about not correcting the gods.

"Do you think they could make us not wanted anymore?" Nora asked. "I mean, we did kinda save the world. It'd be great not to be hunted down for that."

"Consider it done," the light god said.

"What?! How?!" Nora cried in disbelief.

The purple god started at her.

"Are you questioning your gods? Your very creators?"

"No-I... sorry," Nora said.

The light god smiled down at them.

"We wish you all happiness, and we will watch over you," he said.

"Uh... thanks?" Sun asked.

The two brothers disappeared, and Sun spun to face the rest of them.

"Did he just say they were _gods_?!"

"Oh boy, you really do need that explanation, don't you?" Nora said, shaking her head.

Everyone burst out laughing, equal parts form relief and mirth.

"It's over," Oscar muttered in disbelief. "It's finally over."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope I did this justice... sorry!


	15. New Beginnings

"So all of this magic stuff is real? We really just met the **gods**?!" Sun cried.

Nora had finally gotten through the entire explanation, telling him not only about the drama but the actual important information. He was entirely caught up at this point, and he looked around the group with shock.

"I think I'm gonna faint."

"Neo says to wait until we get to the airship because you'd be too heavy to carry," Ciel said.

Sun shook his head, following the rest of the group as they neared the airship. As they exited the academy, he found that there were far less Grimm at this point than there had been earlier when they'd entered.

Neo led them into the airship, the rest of the group following her.

Winter pulled out her scroll and clicked on the news.

"We're... not wanted anymore," she said finally.

"Is there a reason listed, Girlfriend Winter?" Penny asked.

"It just says that there was... a mistake," she said slowly.

"That's awesome!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah... that's pretty awesome," Yang agreed, staring out the window as they started to take off.

-

"So... he's gone?" Whitley asked.

Oscar nodded, tears in his eyes.

Whitley threaded his fingers through Oscar's own.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's gone. It's... weird. When I had him in the back of my head, all I wanted was to get rid of him. But now that he's gone..."

"You miss him," Whitley finished for him.

Oscar nodded.

Whitley pulled him closer, and let Oscar put his head on his shoulder.

"It's over," Oscar said again.

"I love you," Whitley said. He slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes wide. He hadn't meant to say that. It had just been spur of the moment, letting his enthusiasm take over. He shouldn't have said that. He felt Oscar's back stiffen, and he cursed in his head. He should take it back before he made Oscar more uncomfortable-

"I love you, too, Whit-Whit," he whispered.

Whitley turned to face him, and Oscar found himself almost laughing at the expression. It was the one that Yang had told him about. The Schnee look of love.

Oscar leaned in and kissed him gently.

When they pulled apart, Oscar smiled at him.

"Some things are over, I guess... but some things are just beginning."

-

Pyrrha wrapped her arm around her girlfriend, holding her tightly.

"Thank you, Ilia."

"What for?"

"Being there for me."

"You don't have to thank me for that, Pyrrha. I love you. I'll always be here for you."

"I love you too, Ilia."

She leaned down and kissed her gently.

Sun, who was sitting beside Ilia, averted his gaze awkwardly. His eyes ended up on Whitley and Oscar.

"Come on, those kids are in love too?" he muttered to himself. It seemed that, no matter where Sun looked, he found his eyes landing on a different couple (or other sort of relationship, he couldn't just assume that everyone on this airship was in a couple, considering team RWBY and JNIPR's weird arrangements they seemed to have).

-

"Girlfriend Winter, are you alright?" Penny asked, setting her hand on Winter's knee as she had seen Ruby do with Weiss before. Penny had taken to watching other couples to see how they interacted so that she could do the same with Winter. She sometimes worried that Winter might not enjoy being in a relationship with her considering she was so socially inept and unsure how to treat one's girlfriend.

"Yes, Penny. I'm fine. It's just... a lot to take in."

"How so?" Penny asked.

"It just seems like... everything has changed now."

"Not everything," Penny responded.

Winter looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. It just... doesn't feel real yet."

Penny grabbed Winter's face in her hands, pulling her closer. She heated up her lips to the temperature she'd found that Winter most enjoyed, moving one hand down to her waist and pulling the Schnee closer. Winter was pushed up against her front, having to lean forward to balance herself, her hand falling on the wall. Penny's hands warmed as she kissed her. Winter deepened the kiss, her free hand reaching up to rest on Penny's neck. Penny could barely feel her background programs running, which she supposed meant that she could barely think of anything but Winter. The only program she could keep up was her timer. When it hit zero, she pulled back from Winter, watching her girlfriend as she panted for breath. Penny had timed the optimum time for their kisses, so that she wouldn't end them too soon or make Winter run out of oxygen.

"How about now?"

Winter stared at her, dazed.

"About what?" she asked, blinking in confusion as she took deep breaths.

"Does it feel real now?" she asked.

Winter nodded, pressing her forehead against Penny's own. She felt it heat up under her skin, and she fought off a giggle.

"No."

Penny frowned in confusion, opening her mouth to respond, but Winter continued.

"Because kissing you feels like a dream."

Penny smiled at her, leaning closer.

"I love you," Penny said.

"I love you, too," Winter responded, moving closer.

-

Neo tapped Ciel on the shoulder impatiently.

"Yes?"

_'Get Maria to fly.'_

"What? Why?"

Neo wiggled her eyebrows at her, winking.

Ciel flushed.

She thought for a second before she turned.

"Maria, can you come pilot the airship? Neo's feeling a bit tired."

_'I'm feeling anything but tired, Gorgeous.'_

Ciel flushed.

Maria stalked up, limping, and shook her head at the pair.

"Just go make out back there. Everyone else is already."

Neo grinned, standing up and grabbing Ciel by the hands.

She dragged her to the back of the airship.

Ciel was about to take a seat, but Neo halted her by a wall, pushing her up against it and raising her into the air.

Ciel let out a sound of surprise, but was silenced as Neo connected their lips with a vengeance. Neo reached down and grabbed Ciel by the legs, lifting her up into the air so that she could get better access.

Ciel made a disgruntled sound against her lips, but let her legs wrap around Neo's waist.

Neo smirked against her lips, reaching one hand up to run through Ciel's hair, knocking her hat off her head. It hit the ground with a thud, but Ciel didn't notice. She reached up one of her hands, putting them around Neo's shoulders and draping them down her back with a slow almost seductive nature. Neo let her other hand hold Ciel around the waist to make extra sure she didn't fall over. Ciel's other hand put itself on Neo's chest, running down until it played with her rib cage.

Neo pulled back, smirking down at her and breathing deeply.

She pressed her forehead against Ciel's own gently.

Her eyes turned red, shifting shape until they resembled hearts. She'd been working on that for the past few days. Ciel grinned stupidly at the heart eyes.

"I love you, too."

Neo leaned back in, and Ciel excitedly reciprocated.

-

Jaune found himself pushed against the back of his seat, legs spread as Nora leaned forward between them. She was standing in the aisle between the rows of seats, stretched forward over Juane. Her hands were on his hips as she deepened the kiss. His own hands were wrapped around her neck, playing with her hair.

Nora pulled back and Jaune took a deep breath. Before he could let it out, Ren took Nora's place, lifting him up slightly and pressing him against the back of the seat for better access. Ren's hands were on the bottom of Jaune's legs to steady him, and Jaune's hands grabbed onto Ren's shirt collar, pulling him impossibly closer.

Ren pulled back, leaving Jaune breathless as he panted deeply.

Nora grabbed onto Ren next, throwing her arms around his shoulders and looping her hands behind his neck. She reached onto the tips of her toes and he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her upwards to connect their lips. Jaune watched and smiled as the two smiled at each other, pulling away.

"I love you two," Jaune said.

"I love you both, too," Nora said.

Ren grabbed Jaune's hand in his own.

"As do I. I love you."

-

Coco ran her hand over Velvet's ears, who made a mental note to herself to ask Blake if she had to put up with the same sort of treatment from her girlfriends, while Velvet held her around the waist. Velvet was sitting on the chair beside Coco, the two facing one another. One of Velvet's hands ran along Coco's back, reaching up until she reached her head, grabbing her hat before tipping it onto her own head. Coco pulled back, glancing up at her girlfriend's head, where her hat now sat.

"If you wanted it, you just had to say so."

Velvet reached her hand up to grab the sunglasses, putting them on.

"I want those too."

"Are you just going to steal everything I'm wearing? Seems rather inappropriate," Coco said. Velvet flushed a deep red.

Fox groaned.

"Can it, Fox. I'm busy. You don't have to listen."

"You're right," he said, standing and walking toward the back of the airship. He stopped when he came near Neo and Ciel. He promptly turned back around and went to his own seat.

"Never mind. People are being grosser than you two back there. And louder. Which should be impossible considering one of them is mute."

Coco rolled her eyes, leaning back down to kiss Velvet.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Fox groaned at the couple. They didn't care.

-

Weiss made a face as her two siblings continued to kiss their respective partners.

"See, Weiss? That's how gross it is when I'm forced to watch one of you two kiss Ruby."

"You signed up for this relationship," Weiss muttered.

"And who can blame me? It's so worth it considering what I get."

Yang leaned forward and connected her lips with Weiss, grabbing the former heiress around the waist and standing up. She twirled Weiss in mid air, letting her eyes peek open. Blake smirked at her, standing and grabbing Ruby around the waist and picking her up as well. They'd planned this out before, and they were quite proud of themselves.

Yang stepped forward and pressed Weiss' back against Ruby's, making both of the shorter teammates make sounds of shock. They were both silenced by their teammates. Ruby and Weiss each looped their legs around their respective partner's waists, Weiss only so that she wasn't dangling limply (and maybe so that Yang didn't have to hold her up with her hands).

Blake reached around Ruby, putting one hand on Weiss' stomach while she rested the other on Ruby's back. The team leader ran a hand through Blake's hair, playing with her ears until she got the other girl to purr against her lips. Blake cracked an eye open, and wondered why her girlfriends always wanted to get her to purr. Ruby brought one hand down and set it on Blake's face while the other reached down to play with the hem of Blake's shirt collar. Yang held her mechanical arm back until Weiss grabbed it with her own hand, bringing it forward until it was set on her shoulder. Yang smiled slightly into the kiss, using her right hand to run through Weiss' hair, taking out her hair tie expertly, as she did every time (Weiss barely stopped herself from huffing). Yang's other hand was reached around both Weiss and Ruby, resting on Blake's arm. Weiss held Yang's face in both of her hands and deepened the kiss hastily.

When the four pulled apart from each other, they were all panting.

"Did you two seriously plan this out?" Weiss asked.

"You haven't even seen the best part," Yang said, smirking.

She set Weiss down and turned her around while Blake did the same with Ruby. They were left facing one another, pushed flush up against each other. Blake and Yang leaned over the two shorter teammates, connecting their lips.

"This is all an elaborate short joke?" Weiss asked, huffing.

"I don't care," Ruby said, grinning as she leaned forward and connected their lips as well.

Weiss reached around Ruby and pushed her against Blake's front, reaching around the faunus and resting them on her back. Ruby put on hand on Weiss' cheek, the other in her hair, messing with it as Yang had. Blake and Yang used the other two teammates' proximity to close the distance between them, Yang reaching up to play with her ears while Blake rang one hand over Yang's robotic hand, the other playing with the bottom of her jacket.

When the two pairs pulled back, Weiss and Blake glanced at each other, grinning. Ruby and Yang both sighed as they were pushed to the side. Weiss rolled her eyes as Blake looked down at her.

"Never speak of this," Weiss muttered.

"What?" Blake asked, confused.

Weiss hopped up, grabbing Blake around the neck with her arms and wrapping her legs around her waist.

Blake grinned into the kiss, moving forward and pushing Weiss against Yang's front to balance her while she reached up, playing with Weiss' hair, curling it around her fist while running her other hand over Weiss' back. The former heiress smiled and rested one hand on Blake's chest to enjoy the purr that built in it. Her other hand pulled Blake impossibly closer from around her neck, making her lean down. Yang put her hands around Weiss' waist to steady her while Ruby leaned against Blake's side.

When Blake and Weiss pulled apart, they both smiled at one another.

"I love you two," Ruby said quickly.

"So do I," Yang added, "I love you both so much."

"I love you three," Blake said.

They all stared at Weiss, who seemed dazed as she looked at her three girlfriends.

"So do I. I love you three... so much. I'm so lucky."

The four took a moment to revel in their happiness and love before they returned to what they'd been dooing.

-

Sun shook his head, but a small, happy smile was on his lips. Despite his previous feelings for Blake, he was happy for her and her teammates. Even if he was the only one not dating someone, he could be happy for all of his friends, old and new.

And when Ilia pulled back from Pyrrha long enough to give him a small, apologetic smile, he was sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like they all deserved a little bit more fluff and happiness in their life! Sorry if it was too much fluff to take!


	16. License

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a sort of mention of one of my one shots from pollination drabbles, but you don't have to have read it to understand what's going on. It's just a little funny thing.

"Okay, overly in love teenagers, I have to interrupt. Where are we going?" Maria called from the front.

"Well-"

Winter pulled away from Penny, giving her an apologetic look. She cut Ruby off.

"I got a message from Ironwood, asking me why I took an extended vacation. He also asked when Penny and I would be back."

Yang laughed.

"Didn't we literally steal the object he cherished most in this world?" she asked.

Winter nodded.

"He also asked me to return you guys for some sort of surprise."

"Is the surprise prison?" Coco asked.

"That wouldn't be a surprise," Weiss responded.

"Are we going?" Yang asked, moving closer to Ruby.

The team leader took a moment to consider.

"I mean, the gods really did tell us that we were safe, so, like... there's nobody better to trust than them, right?" Ruby responded.

"She's got a point. I say we go," Coco said.

"I literally could not care less," Jaune said, looking a bit impatient as he glanced at his boyfriend and girlfriend.

"If we don't go now, he'll grow suspicious if we're gone for a while again," Winter said.

"Then we should go, Girlfriend Winter. I know you've missed Atlas."

Winter gave Penny a small smile, leaning closer.

"Hey! Hey! Don't get distracted! We're having a conversation!" Weiss said, snapping her fingers at the pair.

Winter rolled her eyes, glancing at her sister.

"I thought we decided already," she said, sounding slightly impatient.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Anyone against going to Atlas?"

Neo raised her hand.

"You're not on the wanted list anymore," Winter said.

Neo's eyes widened and she looked at her in shock. Ciel put a hand on Neo's shoulder. Her girlfriend still hadn't set her down, still pushing her against the wall.

"Are you okay with going then?" Ciel asked.

Neo nodded excitedly.

"We're in," Ciel called. Neo immediately kissed her, and everyone looked away.

Winter looked around for a moment before she leaned forward and set her head on Penny's shoulder.

The robotic girl seemed worried.

"Girlfriend Winter, perhaps it would be best not to put your head on my shoulder, considering my metallic structure," she said.

Winter rolled her eyes, moving closer.

"Don't ruin the moment, Penny. I'm comfortable."

"You two are gross," Weiss called.

"You're all gross!" Sun cried.

Ilia patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.

He glanced at her, and found that she was still curled up against Pyrrha's side. Sun shook his head, sighing.

-

Maria set the airship down on, and Neo looked around nervously.

_'I forgot that you can land airships on landing strips.'_

"You've been a criminal for far too long," Ciel said. "How are you going to adjust to the real world."

_'I'll need someone to guide me, Gorgeous. Maybe someone with a hot-'_

"Oh my dust, you two are so gross!" Jaune cried, covering his eyes so that he didn't have to see what Neo was saying. "How did I not know this before?!"

Neo snickered silently, and Ciel flushed.

"Maybe them learning sign language is a bad idea," Ciel muttered.

"MAYBE?!" Jaune cried.

Nora set a hand on his shoulder.

"He's kidding!" she paused. "Maybe. To be honest, I can't tell. But whatever."

Yang rolled her eyes, slipping her metallic hand into Blake's and threading their fingers together.

"Do you really think we're going to be forgiven?" she asked.

"Who knows?" Blake said, shrugging.

"If not, we can always just steal another airship," Weiss said.

All three of her teammates glanced at her, eyes wide.

She laughed at their expressions, shaking her head in amusement.

As soon as they had stepped off of the airship, they were met with General Ironwood, who stood with his arms folded behind his back, staring at each of them in turn.

"It's a pleasure to see you all again. And... some new faces."

Sun waved enthusiastically.

"And it's especially good to see you, Special Agent Schnee, Ms. Polendina."

Winter glanced at her girlfriend, looking almost nervous.

"And you, General Ironwood," she said finally. Penny nodded enthusiastically.

"Please come with me, all of you," he said, turning on his heel. They all scurried after him, glancing at one another.

"Sorry, who's this guy again? Why are you all nervous?" Sun asked.

"The General? You know, the one that took control of Atlas and Mantle. Put all of us on the wanted list and _maybe_ sorta tried to have us all killed, but that's kinda in a gray area and we can't say for sure," Nora said.

Sun glanced at the man.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that guy."

Nora shrugged.

"Honestly, so did I."

"Literally **how** , Nora?" Jaune asked.

She grinned, shrugging as she looked around in excitement.

Ruby glanced at Weiss, finding her nervously fidgeting her fingers.

"He's not here anymore, Weiss," she whispered.

Weiss glanced at her, smiling thinly.

"I know, Ruby. Thank you though," she said.

Ruby smiled and reached over to put her arm around Weiss' shoulders.

The former heiress hesitated for a moment before moving closer, letting the team leader hold her gently.

Yang suddenly grinned, glancing at Blake.

"You can't be serious about this," the faunus said, raising an eyebrow.

Yang looked almost as if she was about to bounce up and down on the tips of her toes like Ruby often did.

"You're serious about this."

Yang nodded.

Blake sighed, turning back to their other two teammates.

"Sorry, Weiss," Blake said as Yang grabbed the former heiress, grabbing onto her waist.

"Ruby, Yang wants you to climb on my back."

Ruby frowned at Blake in confusion, but hurried up to her anyways.

"Okay!"

She hopped onto Blake's back and held her around the waist with her legs. Blake grabbed her legs, holding her up gently.

"Why are we doing this?" Ruby asked.

"Yang says you two walk too slow."

Ruby glared at her sister as she finally got Weiss on her back.

Weiss clutched her like a baby koala as if she was going to fall off.

Yang grinned and reached a hand out, stealing Blake's hand and following the rest of their party.

Sun glanced back at the four, eyes wide.

"Can't you guys just act normal for five minutes?"

"This is the new normal," Weiss said, voice serious... but the bright red blush on her face showed her embarrassment.

Ruby giggled at the former heiress' expression, reaching her hand out to grab Weiss' hand.

Penny looked back at them.

"Girlfriend Winter, would you like to walk that way as well?" she asked.

Winter shook her head quickly.

"No. Definitely not."

Nora bounced on the tips of her toes, turning to Jaune and Ren.

He moved backwards in worry, but Nora caught him, grabbing him and tossing him into the air. He let out a cry of shock as Nora caught him behind her back.

"Nora, put me down!" he cried.

" **Never**!" she called, grabbing Ren's hand and running off. Jaune was forced to hold onto Nora tightly to keep from falling off.

"This is humiliating!" he hissed.

"It's _fun_!" Nora said excitedly.

Sun rolled his eyes, tail dropping slightly.

"You want to give someone a piggy back ride, don't you?" Ilia asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him.

He nodded, and she sighed, shaking her head.

"Alright, but don't jostle me too much."

He grinned, eyes widening in shock.

"Really?!"

She motioned for him to stoop down, and he did so eagerly.

Ilia glanced at Pyrrha, who smiled at her and gestured for her to get on his back.

Sun smiled and grabbed her around the legs, looking over his shoulder.

"You ready?!"

She nodded, staring at him.

He took off at a sprint, and she let out a shriek of shock.

Sun laughed excitedly, glancing back at Pyrrha.

"What? Not gonna race us? I thought you said you were a champion or whatever."

Pyrrha found herself smiling and ran she ran after him.

"There's no way we're gonna lose this, right?" Ruby asked Blake.

The cat faunus rolled her eyes.

"This is stupid. Yang, don't participate."

Yang glanced at Blake, having already gotten ready to run, and frowned.

"What? Why?"

Blake took off at a sprint.

Ruby whooped in excitement, throwing her hands up in the air as Blake put distance between them and their partners.

"You little sneaky..."

Yang raced after the pair, and Weiss shrieked, clutching Yang tightly.

"If you drop me, I swear I'll break up with you!" Weiss snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," Yang said, rolling her eyes as she attempted to catch up with Blake.

"Run, Blake! I'll take care of her!" Ruby called, reaching down to grab Blake's weapon off of her the faunus' belt. She threw the weapon at Yang, holding the ribbon tightly.

Yang let out a cry of shock.

"Rubes, you little gremlin!" she called.

Ruby pulled the weapon back with the ribbon, then threw it at her sister again.

Yang almost fell, and Weiss glared at Ruby.

"Weiss, protect me!" Yang cried.

"Stop being so dramatic!" Weiss snapped, though she was already grabbing her rapier.

Ruby's eyes widened and she turned to Blake.

"RUN! WEISS IS GONNA KILL US!"

Weiss summoned a glyph under the pair-and they disappeared.

They reappeared a few meters ahead, and Blake glanced over her shoulder, smirking.

Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes.

Sun glanced at Ilia over his shoulder, panting.

"How is she so fast?!" he cried.

Ilia shook her head to clear it.

"She's, like, the all time champion of everything. And she's a Maiden. Honestly, she might be the most powerful person on the planet since Ozma's gone now. Well, maybe second most."

"Who could possibly be stronger than her?!" Sun asked, sprinting as fast as he could. He'd had a pretty far lead on Pyrrha when they'd started, but she was gaining on him impossibly fast.

"Neo."

Sun's eyes widened.

"What?"

"She's a double Maiden now," Ilia said, waving her hand dismissively.

"This group is horrifying," Sun grinned, "I love it!"

Ilia laughed and looked to the side. Pyrrha had caught up to them, and was now matching their pace. She didn't race past them, and her breathing wasn't labored. She wasn't even breaking a sweat, which both Ilia and Sun found _insane_ considering how fast they were going.

When they skidded to a stop where General Ironwood had told them to meet, Sun narrowly avoided running into Nora and Jaune, using his tail to grab the side of the wall and steady himself. Pyrrha stopped quickly, looking up and finding the General staring at them in shock.

Blake skidded to a stop a moment before Yang slammed against Pyrrha's back. She fell backward and Weiss shrieked.

Ruby reached her hand out and caught her sister by the wrist. Blake grunted and steadied herself by grabbing Ilia's shoulder.

Coco came to a halt, Fox situated on her back, and looked around.

"Neo, put me down!" Ciel shrieked as they raced into the room, Neo holding her girlfriend in a death grip behind her legs to keep her up.

"Something wrong?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The rest of their team followed inside, each of them glancing at the general.

Penny and Winter walked in, followed by Oscar and Whitley.

Winter's eyes widened.

"General Ironwood, I apologize for-"

He smiled thinly, glancing at all of the students.

"You know what? I'm glad you are all finally getting some relaxation after everything you've been through. But, I will have to steal you for a few minutes, because we've got a surprise for all of you."

"I still think the surprise is jail," Nora muttered to Jaune. He shushed her.

"Please, follow me into the room behind me," he said, speaking louder than they thought necessary.

They all stepped inside the room behind him, several still on other people's backs.

When they stepped inside, they were met by-

"Surprise!"

Several of the students jumped, raising their weapons or searching for an exit.

They stilled when the Ace-Ops moved to the side, revealing the large cake that was set on the table behind them.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, holding both her scythe and Blake's weapon.

"We're giving you your Huntsmen and Huntresses licenses!"


	17. Congratulations!

Penny looked at her friends excitedly.

"Congratulations!" she said, her swords pulling out from behind her back and hurrying to the cake, cutting it into equally sized slices.

"Yeah, that's great, guys!" Sun cried, tail wagging.

"Actually, he was instrumental to our success in saving the world. Can we get one too?" Yang asked, pointing at Sun.

Ironwood and the Ace-Ops stared at them.

"Saving the world?" the General finally asked.

"Oh, right. Nobody knows about that, do they?" Yang asked, looking around.

"Long story short, we killed Salem through the power of friendship, love, and GUNS!" Nora cried. Ruby nodded excitedly.

"You... **killed** Salem?!" the General yelled.

"Yeah. Oh! Cute boy Oz! Give him the staff!" Nora said.

"Right!" he said, awkwardly pulling the relic off of his belt and holding it out for the General to take.

"Thank you for returning this," the General said slowly, "I almost... can't remember why you left, or why you took it..."

"Weird. Let's never talk about this again," Winter said quickly. "Besides, we're busy with the party, right? We've got some new Huntsmen and Huntresses!"

Winter's voice was unusually, and perhaps unnaturally, excited as she gestured for Penny to hand out the cake slices. Penny did so enthusiastically.

"Congratulations to all of you! I'm so proud of each and every one of you!"

"Yes, right, Winter. And so are you, Penny," the General said, rubbing at his temple. He seemed to have forgotten what they were talking about before, and he walked forward.

He took Ruby's scroll in his hand first and put his scroll against it, hitting a few buttons. When she got it back, her eyes widened at the license. She'd known, logically speaking, that they were becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses, but... it hadn't felt real until then. She let out a laugh of excitement, bringing her hand up to her mouth as she looked at her friends and teammates.

The General continued across the room, stopping when he reached the final three members of the party.

He took Ilia's scroll first, and she frowned.

"Uh, sir, I wasn't actually a student-"

"You've done more than enough for Atlas and, apparently, the world, and you've proved yourself more than worthy of becoming a Huntress."

Pyrrha smiled widely at her, leaning down and pulling the chameleon faunus in for a tight hug.

The general took Sun's, glancing at him.

"I do hope this doesn't frustrate the rest of your team, Mr. Wukong," he said, verifying his Huntsman license.

Sun let out a laugh, staring at his scroll in disbelief.

"I, uh, thank you, sir!" he said happily.

"No, thank you," Ironwood said.

The final member of the party gave Ironwood a slightly awkward smirk.

Neo tipped an invisible hat at him for a moment before thinking. She formed a real one, a top hat, and tipped it. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, and she glanced at Ciel with a look that said _'help me.'_

The General held out his hand and she took a hesitant step backward.

"Give me your scroll," he said.

She pulled out her scroll slowly and he took it.

A moment later, she took it back and her eyes widened in disbelief. She glanced at Ciel, holding it up. Huntress Neopolitan.

Ciel found herself grinning, leaning forward and pulling Neo in for a hug.

"Congratulations!" Penny called, clapping her hands.

 _'Wow, never been on the right side of the law before,'_ Neo signed.

Team JNIPR and CFVY snickered.

"We really need to learn sign language, don't we?" Ruby asked. Yang and Blake nodded while Weiss made a slightly disgusted expression.

"I'm not sure I want to know what she's saying," Weiss said.

Yang let out a laugh, shaking her head.

"Oh! General Ironwood," Pyrrha said, "we went to Beacon Academy, and the Grimm seemed to be thinning out. I think it'll be ready to open up for remodeling in a few days."

"You... went to Beacon?"

"Yes... when we were saving the world," Ruby said worriedly.

"That's... good. But it will probably take some time to get the school up and running, as we'll need to get a group of dedicated Huntsmen and Huntresses to clean up, as well as pick a new headmaster after..."

Oscar looked down sadly, and Whitley put a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Oh! You need Huntsmen and Huntresses! We can do it! We can clean up the school!" Ruby said, bouncing up and down on the tips of her toes. "It couldn't take too long, and it'd be great to get Beacon up and running again!"

She glanced at her teammates, and they all nodded.

"Sure. We can do that," Yang said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Team JNIPR is in!" Nora cried.

"Team CFVY's got nothing better to do, I guess," Coco said, grinning.

Penny _beamed_ and turned to her partner. Ciel laughed quietly, nodding.

"Sure. Sure, why not."

"Team PWNC wants to join!" Penny cried, pronouncing it much like she would say her own name.

 _'We're a team now?'_ Neo asked.

"Of course!" Penny said enthusiastically. Neo grinned at her with the same sort of excitement.

"Special Agent Schnee?" Ironwood asked, frowning.

"I would like leave to join... my team," she said.

Penny clapped enthusiastically.

"Very well," he said.

Marrow took a step forward, looking around.

"Where's Clover and Elm?" he asked.

Ilia took a deep breath, and the mood of the entire party dipped.

"Elm's at our dad's house, but we can send her a message," Ruby said.

"And Clover?" Vine prompted.

"He... didn't make it," Ilia said quietly. "He... saved my life."

"Oh."

Silence reined over the large group, and Pyrrha put her hand on Ilia's shoulder. The faunus moved closer to her, setting her head on her side.

"I'm sorry," Ilia said through tears.

"It's alright, Ms. Amitola. He was a good man, and a great Huntsman. He'll be missed," Ironwood said calmingly.

Ilia nodded, sniffling slightly.

Pyrrha pulled her closer, and Sun glanced at the pair. He leaned over to talk to Nora.

"You didn't tell me about Clover."

"It's... a touchy subject. I'll tell you later."

Sun nodded, though he didn't seem sure as he watched the couple.

He reached out a tentative hand and put it on Ilia's arm. He squeezed it, and she smiled at him gently, wiping at her eyes.

-

 _'When are we leaving?'_ Neo signed.

"Uh, tomorrow morning, probably," Ruby said.

"Good. I've seriously missed sleeping in beds," Nora groaned.

"Tell me about it!" Jaune said, rubbing at his back.

Whitley grabbed Oscar's hand, pulling him back. They were the only two members that hadn't gained Huntsman or Huntress licenses.

Whitley awkwardly rubbed the back of Oscar's hand with his thumb.

"Where... Where are you going?"

"To bed?" Oscar asked.

"No, I mean...," Whitley sighed, shaking his head. "Are you going to Beacon with the rest of them?"

Oscar nodded.

"Yeah, I mean... where else would I go? They're... my family now."

Whitley nodded slowly.

"Are you not going?" Oscar asked, suddenly sounding nervous.

"Ironwood mentioned taking me back home, but...," Whitley trailed off and Oscar moved forward intently, grabbing his other hand tightly. "I might be able to be convinced to come with."

Oscar frowned.

"How?"

Whitley sighed impatiently, tapping his foot as he stared at Oscar.

The other boy's eyes suddenly widened and his mouth made an "o" shape.

"I think you should come with!" Oscar said quickly.

"Then convince me."

-

Weiss made a gagging sound at her brother and his boyfriend, and her teammates rolled there eyes.

"You've seriously gotta get used to that stuff," Yang said.


	18. Worries

Nora leaned out the door to the room she was staying in with her team.

"Sun, you coming?" she called.

He jumped, glancing over at them.

"What?"

"I asked if you were coming."

"I'm... supposed to?" he asked.

"Yeah, where else would you stay?" she asked. "Team RWBY? You'd be a fifth wheel. Ciel and Neo will probably be making out all night, and despite having a mute girlfriend, Ciel is not quiet. Wint-"

Sun held up his hands.

“Okay, I get your point. Being a sixth wheel is clearly superior to being a fifth or third wheel,” he said.

Nora laughed and held open the door open for him.

“You’re not a sixth wheel! Team JNIPRS has not sixth wheel!”

Sun glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Team JNIPRS?”

“We’ve claimed you as our sixth team member!” Nora cried.

“There is no escape,” Ren said, voice monotone.

Sun laughed.

“Don’t know if my own team’ll like this, but I’m in!” he said, talking a seat on the couch.

“They kind of just engulfed me into the team too,” Ilia said.

Sun laughed, watching Nora.

“Sounds like them,” he said.

-

Yang fell against the bed.

“Look at General Ironwood, thinking we’re nice and single,” she said. The room was filled with two sets of bunk beds, and Yang had already taken one of them, on the bottom row.

“Yang, they’re small beds, maybe we should split up,” Blake said.

All three of her teammates stared at her, and she grinned.

“Just kidding.”

“Almost had me fooled, Kit-Kat,” Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed, instantly being grabbed by Yang.

Weiss let out a quiet sound of protest as Yang buried her head in her hair.

Ruby flopped onto the bed beside her, pulling Blake with her.

“I still can’t believe it’s all over. We’re... we’re Huntresses! And we’re going back to Beacon of all places! It’s like... we’re starting a new chapter in our lives!” Ruby said excitedly.

Blake turned to face her teammates, a small smile on her face.

“Together.”

Ruby beamed at her, putting her head on Blake’s chest.

“Exactly! Blake getsit!”

“Together?” Weiss asked, sounding slightly hesitant.

“Of course together, Angel,” Yang said, holding Weiss closer.

Weiss melted in her arms.

“I just... for so long, we didn’t have to know what to do next. We just... did what we had to. But now... what will we do? Where do we go? Do we even have a plan?” Weiss asked.

“We’re going to Beacon,” Ruby said.

Weiss glared at her.

“Yeah, I know that much, but what about after?”

“Why does it matter?” Yang asked.

“Because!” Weiss snapped, but she hesitated.

“This isn’t about the plan. What’s bothering you?” Blake asked.

“It’s just...,” Weiss sighed, blushing. “Ruby’s right. Everything’s over. And when students graduate, they start to... separate,” she finally said.

“You’re worried about us breaking up?!” Yang cried.

Weiss flushed.

“No! I mean... kind of, yes. But it’s not just that.”

“We’re not breaking up with you,” Ruby said hurriedly.

“Yeah, of course not!” Yang said.

Blake agreed quickly afterwards.

“Then what else is upsetting you?” Yang asked.

Weiss flushed again.

“After we rebuild, will we ever see some of these people again?” she whispered.

“Of course we will!” Ruby said.

“What makes you so sure?” Weiss asked.

“Because I know these people, and I know us. We’re going to be in touch with them for a long time, and you’re going to do nothing but complain about that fact,” Yang said.

Blake and Ruby laughed, making Weiss smile, relaxing beside them.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” three voices said.

She smiled, letting her eyes fall shut slowly.

They were sure, and that was more than enough for her.

She let herself drift to sleep as she laid between the two sisters, Blake’s hand set on her shoulder gently.

She shouldn’t have worried.


	19. Anywhere With You

“So you’re telling me,” Coco said, “that we flew all the way from Beacon to Atlas, just to fly back.”

“You’re the one who said that our team was coming,” Fox griped.

“You were more than welcome to stay behind,” Coco said with an eye roll.

‘I’m just surprised that they let us keep the airship,’ Neo signed.

“Honestly,” Jaune agreed.

“I’m surprised we’re not all in jail,” Maria muttered.

“How long until we get there?” Ruby whined. “I’m sick of spending hours and days on airships!”

“Ruby, it’s been the only rest we’ve gotten over the past few months,” Weiss pointed out.

“But that’s all over now! We won’t need to use them anymore!” Ruby said excitedly.

Blake laughed, shaking her head as Ruby grabbed onto her hands, bouncing them up and down.

“You guys are really excited to get back to fighting Grimm, huh?” Sun asked.

“And rebuilding. Don’t forget the rest of the physical labor we’ll have to do,” Penny translated for Neo.

“I don’t know anything about architecture, and I’m sure that none of you guys do either,” Coco said, “so how are we going to go about rebuilding?”

A beat of silence.

“We’ll figure it out,” Ruby said dismissively.

Weiss and Blake glanced at her, obvious disbelief on their faces.

“Yeah! I’m sure we can figure something out!” Yang agreed.

-

Yang threw the brick down.

“There’s no way we could ever figure this out!” she growled.

Blake calmly grabbed the brick, coating the sides in mortar and setting it down in place.

“It’s not that hard.”

Yang threw up her hands.

“That’s it! I’m going to go help Ruby!” Yang snapped.

She clicked her gauntlet into place, stepping outside to help her sister, who was one of the few that were defending the school from the Grimm outside.

It was easy work, but someone had to make sure the people inside didn’t get distracted. Neo was doing the same inside, presumably keeping the Grimm from interfering, but she was spending the whole time with Ciel, barely paying attention to the people around her.

They’d arrived half an hour ago, at most, and already the hallways had been mostly cleared of Grimm. Sun was currently going through the halls with Pyrrha, cleaning out the dust with his clones (summoned via his semblance, of course). Pyrrha was doing the majority of the work, however, considering she could summon large gusts of wind to sweep away at the halls and clear it from dust and grime.

Penny would be doing the same, but she was using her superhuman strength to lift great pillars and supportive beams to be stabilized with her laser blasts.

“You know, you could be helping Pyrrha and Sun. Your powers would be even more effective than hers, considering you’re literally twice the Maiden she is,” Ciel said.

Bro rolled her eyes, leaning forward against her parasol as she looked at the other girl, who was directing Penny’s movements.

‘Someone’s got to protect you, Gorgeous.’

“Penny’s right there.”

‘Well, now I just think you’re trying to get rid of me.’

Ciel glanced back at her.

“Oh no, whatever would make you think that?” she asked, voice monotone.

Neo laughed silently, holding her hands up in surrender.

‘Fine! Consider me suitably chastised!’

Ciel rolled her eyes.

“Go.”

Neo stride down the hallways, looking for anything she could fix or possibly someone else to pester.

Oscar leaned against a wall, looking around.

“This place must have been quite the sight before it fell,” he said.

“It really was,” Ren responded, putting a hand to keep Nora from teetering over from the heavy weight she carried.

Whitley stood at Oscar’s side, awkwardly trying to move his hand toward the other boy’s without being caught.

“I suppose that must be why Weiss decided to come here instead of staying in Atlas,” he muttered.

“You know why I left,” Weiss called from the other side of the room.

Whitley wondered how she’d heard him, but he nodded in understanding as he watched Blake’s twitch.

She must have had a messenger.

Outside, Yang turned to Ruby.

“What’d you tell Qrow?”

“That the Ace-Ops were looking for him and Elm.”

“What’re they doing?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t respond.”

Yang nodded her head, distractedly shooting at a nearby Grimm.

“Someone’s coming,” Fox called. He and Yatsu were the only other two Huntsmen outside helping the sisters.

“Like a person?” Ruby asked, frowning.

He nodded.

“Who is it?” Yang asked.

“It’s not like I can see them, Yang.”

She rolled her eyes, muttering something about sarcasm being the death of Fox.

A moment later, the sisters were met by the familiar sound of heels clicking against the broken sidewalk.

“A valiant effort though it may be, you’re all doing it so wrong,” a familiar voice said, a quiet “tsk” of distaste following.

“Is that-”

“The newest Headmistress of Beacon Academy? Yes, Ms. Rose.”

Glynda Goodwitch stood in front of the pair, looking them over with her almost ever-present expression of disapproval.

“Students such as yourselves shouldn’t be trying to hold off so many Grimm,” she said. As she spoke, she waved a hand, causing rubble all around them to rearrange itself as it had once been.

Ruby glanced at her sister, grinning in excitement.

“Go ahead, Rubes,” Yang said, rolling her eyes.

“We’re not students anymore!” she called.

“And this certainly isn’t anything compared to what we’ve faced,” Yang added, sticking her robotic arm out to the side and shooting a Grimm in the face as it lunged at her. It disintegrated into ash and dust right before it could hit her, but Yang didn’t so much as blink at the interruption.

Ruby scrambled to grab her scroll out of her pocket, holding it up with her license on full display.

Glynda blinked in surprise, but a small smile of pride grew across her lips.

“I see that you four have been busy during your absence. Where are your teams?” she asked.

“Inside. Team JNPR’s back, with two new members too!” Ruby said enthusiastically.

“We’ve got more than two new faces in there, that’s for sure,” Yang said, laughing.

“New faces?”

As if summoned, another figure appeared in the front of the school, seeming to suddenly materialize as if they’d been invisible before. Which made sense, considering Neo stood there a moment later, parasol raised threateningly with the blade extended.

‘Who’s this?’

“Neo, that’s the headmistress please don’t threaten and/or kill her!” Ruby cried.

Glynda spun and held up her weapon at Neo. The former criminal glanced at Ruby before holding up her hands in surrender.

“Who are you?” Glynda snapped.

Neo looked at her with a look that Ruby could instantly translate.

‘Is this girl serious?’ Though, Ruby supposed, Neo probably hadn’t thought something quite so obscenity free.

“I asked you a question!” the woman snapped.

“Uh, Headmistress Goodwitch? Neo’s actually mute, so she can’t respond.”

She nodded, turning back to her rebuilding.

“My apologies. But what is she doing here.”

‘Rebuilding the school that you left to rot for over a year.’

“What’d she say?”

Yatsu glanced at Fox.

“She’s helping rebuild the school.”

“How much do you... know about Ozpin’s planning?” Ruby asked.

“She means did you know about the Maidens?” Yang continued.

Glynda nodded, turning to the front of the building and waving her hand to reconstruct it.

“Why?”

“We have all four of them with us. Or, well, three, considering Neo is two of them.”

Glynda finally paused in her movements.

“I’m sorry, she’s what?”

“She’s two Maidens for the price of one,” Yang responded.

“How does that even happen?”

“It’s a long story,” Fox said.

“I know the perfect person to tell you about it!” Ruby said.

“NORA!” Yang screamed at the top of her lungs.

The small girl appeared moments later, eyes wide.

“Mrs. Goodwitch! You’re okay!” she said excitedly.

“Yes, yes. It’s good to see you, Ms. Valkyrie, but I was told that you could tell me this ‘long story’ of yours.”

Nora beamed.

“Yes! Come inside and I can explain everything!”

“Can’t believe it took her so long to come back here,” Fox muttered.

“Neo, thanks for checking on us, but we’re alright. You can go back inside,” Ruby said.

Neo smiled at her, tipping a hat she’d materialized, and walked back inside.

Nora was excitedly explaining their entire adventure, jumping forward and backward in time randomly, just like always.

Ren and Jaune were both correcting her every time she made a mistake, or perhaps forgot a crucial detail or event.

Neo rolled her eyes, laughing silently.

Sun and Pyrrha came back into the front of the school. He was excitedly, tail looped around Pyrrha’s waist as he pulled her back inside.

“Hey! The back east corridor seems mostly in tact!” he called.

“That’s the dorm rooms, right?” Blake asked.

Pyrrha nodded.

“Almost every room seems fine, even if the walls are still cracked. I can’t do anything about that, Maiden or no,” she said.

“I’ll get to that in a minute, Ms. Nikos,” Glynda said offhandedly.

The Fall Maiden jumped, eyes wide.

“Ms. Goodwitch! It’s good to see you!”

She didn’t seem to hear Pyrrha, listening intently to Nora as she continued to explain their adventures.

Sun pulled Pyrrha over, grinning.

“It was awesome when you used the wind to clean the halls!” Sun cried. He held out his fist and Pyrrha raised her own, gently hitting his.

He laughed, pulling away.

“So that’s your Maiden stuff. What’s your semblance?”

Pyrrha considered for a moment before tossing her shield into the air, letting it hover just above the palm of her hand.

Sun’s tail wagged and he was about to speak, but Glynda interrupted.

“You were wanted?!”

“Didn’t you see us on the news?” Nora asked.

Glynda shook her head.

“Oh, well, yeah, we were wanted. Anyways, then we meet Oscar, who’s, like, the cutest little kid ever, like look at this face!” she reached over and grabbed Oscar, pulling him away from Whitley, and held his face in her hands, directing it at an unimpressed Glynda.

“Can you please focus?”

“Right! So it turns out that Ozpin’s soul was still alive, as I’m sure you knew, and it was in Ozzy!”

“So she just... enjoys explaining stuff like this?” Sun asked Pyrrha.

The redhead nodded, silently apologizing to the headmistress.

“Wait that’s the Neopolitan?”

“Yup!”

Neo waved offhandedly.

Ruby jogged back inside, halting Nora’s explanation once again.

“The sun’s setting and the Grimm are starting to thin. I think we’ll need one person on guard duty at a time tonight, unlike last time where we needed three. Or we could have Maria or Neo fly us somewhere else for the night.”

“I’ll take guard duty,” Pyrrha said.

Ilia seemed worried about that and stepped forward to contradict.

“Don’t sweat it, Il. I’ll stay up with her tonight. I know Nora’s snoring kept you up last night,” Sun said.

“Hey! I don’t snore!” Nora cried.

“Honey, I love you, but your snoring is super loud,” Jaune said. Ren nodded in agreement.

Nora gasped.

“Some boyfriends you two are! Sun! I’m dropping these two, you’re my new boyfriend!” she called.

“No way, I’m in a committed relationship.”

“With who?!” Nora cried.

Sun summoned up a clone of himself, throwing his arm around his own shoulders.

“Myself!”

Nora laughed loudly, and Ilia rolled her eyes.

“Just keep an eye out for her, okay Sun? She pushes herself too hard.”

“I’m right here, Ilia.”

“I will!” Sun said, saluting at his fellow faunus.

“I can take the second shift,” Ruby offered.

“No, she won’t. She’s not waking me up in the middle of the night to sneak outside,” Weiss said, crossing her arms.

“I can take the second shift! I don’t need to shut off for more than four hours a week!” Penny offered.

Winter rolled her eyes, looking slightly disappointed.

“Did you rest get this week?” Ruby asked.

“Friend Ruby, it’s been a very busy week, I haven’t had the chance to so much as blink.”

“Fair point.”

Glynda seemed lost at the quick conversation, as there were too many people chiming in for her to keep up with.

“I’m going to go fix the walls in the dorm room hall... Ms. Valkyrie, I want a full report first thing tomorrow morning,” Glynda said.

“Uh, we’re probably gonna sleep late, ma’am. Nora usually sleeps at least nine to ten hours, and last night we slept three,” Jaune said. “It’s hard to sleep on an airship.”

Nora modded sagely.

The headmistress sighed, rubbing a hand over her temple in frustration.

“Fine. Fine! When you wake up, find me immediately and tell me the full story, from the moment you left Beacon to the second I walked through those doors.”

“Do you want all the relationship drama too or just the actual events?” Nora asked.

Glynda have her a flat look.

“Hon, I’m pretty sure she couldn’t care less about relationship drama.”

“Right. Sorry, ma’am!” Nora said before spinning on her heels and marching toward the back east hallway.

“It’s a good thing you don’t care about the relationship drama, cause it’s, like, over half of what Nora told me. You know, she told me about team RWBY before she told me about Maidens,” Sun said. Ilia laughed and Pyrrha shook her head.

“Of course she did,” Pyrrha said.

“I heard that!” Nora called from down the hall.

“Good!” Sun yelled back, making her snort in amusement.

“What happened to team RWBY?” Glynda asked worriedly.

“Other than me losing my arm?” Yang asked sarcastically.

“We’re dating! Well, except for me and Yang! See?!” Ruby cried, grabbing Weiss’ locket and pulling her forward (to great protest of the former heiress) and opening it to show her three teammates.

Glynda looked at the four girls.

“Something tells me that’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened to you guys,” Glynda said slowly.

“It’s definitely not,” Yang said.

Glynda sighed, rubbing her temple again as a headache started up.

She needed a long night’s sleep if she wanted to be able to understand the full story Nora was supposed to tell her, so she walked toward the dorm room hallway, followed by several of her former students and their new... friends.

-

Ruby looked around at the room. It was familiar, in an almost painful way. Posters and books still littered the room, some knocked from their perches, but it was still familiar.

Ruby’s old bed had fallen on top of Weiss’, but Yang’s was still held up by the books on top of Blake’s.

Yang hurried over to move the bed, setting it down beside Blake’s and knocking the books to the floor.

“See? Queen size bed!”

The other three either laughed or rolled their eyes as they moved to the beds.

“It’s weird being back,” Ruby muttered as she got comfortable.

“Yeah. It feels almost like another lifetime that we were here,” Blake said.

“I don’t know. I remember some things like they were yesterday,” Weiss said, glancing around, even though she could hardly see in the dark.

“Like what?” Yang asked, yawning.

“Meeting you three. Confessing. Kissing you all for the first time,” she said, blushing.

Ruby grabbed Weiss tightly, squeezing the former heiress.

“You know what? Me too.”

“This place was good to us... until it almost got us killed, that is,” Yang said.

Blake snorted, putting her head on top of Weiss’ as Yang looped an arm around her waist.

“It’s good to be back,” Ruby said.

“I don’t care where I am, as long as you three are there,” Blake said before falling asleep.

Her teammates joined her soon after.


	20. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post this one, but it's the longest chapter in quite a long time!

Sun jogged up to join Pyrrha, grabbing her hand with his tail to pull her out of the way of a nearby Grimm attack.

She spun, hand flying out as she threw her sword at the closest Grimm and stabbing it through the chest.

"I could have handled that," Pyrrha said.

Sun grinned at her impishly.

"I did promise your girlfriend that I'd keep an eye out for you."

"Because she's paranoid."

"Didn't she save your life?"

"Yes."

"Then maybe she has a point," Sun said.

Pyrrha laughed quietly as a small Grimm raced past. Pyrrha's shield shot forward and cut through its neck, causing it to disappear in a cloud of dust and ash.

"Why did you volunteer?" Pyrrha asked, watching the dark for any other Grimm that may run by.

"Because... you and Ilia are like the only people who have been nice to me. I mean, aside from team RWBY, your team is the only one. And I don't want to be a fifth wheel with those four."

"Sun, everyone has been trying to get to know you."

"Barely anyone has talked to me. I'm the ultimate third wheel. I'm a," he paused and started to count on his fingers, "seventeenth wheel."

"No you're not," Pyrrha said, glancing at him, "I can't think of one person in this group who hasn't tried to become your friend."

Sun glanced at her.

"Neo and Ciel tried to get you to join them in their sector earlier."

"Neo threatened me."

"That's her way of showing affection. Unless you're Ciel."

"She put her finger to her throat and made a cutting motion. Like she was going to decapitate me, Pyrrha."

"That's her being friendly."

" **How**?!" Sun cried.

Pyrrha let out a quiet sigh, turning to face him. She set her hand on his shoulder and looked him right in the eyes.

"You just have to relax, Sun."

"Nobody's ever told me that before," he said, chucking.

"This is a very go with the flow group. You just need to stop worrying about fitting in. Nobody fits in here, Sun. That's... what makes it perfect."

Sun glanced at her, smiling.

"I've never over thought anything in my life."

Pyrrha chuckled.

"I'm not surprised."

Sun gasped, putting a hand to his chest.

"I thought you were supposed to be the nice one!"

"We were all criminals, Sun. Of course none of us are nice," she said, smiling at him.

He rolled his eyes.

"You're not criminals anymore. Maybe it's time you all start trying to be nice again."

Pyrrha gave him a kind smile.

"Maybe we'll think about it."

She considered for a moment.

"Except Neo. She's never going to be nice to people."

Sun laughed.

"I knew that."

-

Glynda stared at Nora.

"This all really happened?" she asked. Her gaze flickered to Ren and Jaune beside her.

They both nodded.

She rubbed her temple.

"You're telling me that while school was out, not only did you become licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses, but you became wanted criminals world wide, saved the world, doubled your party size, and then saved the world **again**."

Nora leaned over to Jaune.

"She's forgetting the relationship drama."

"Nora, I told you she wouldn't be interested in that stuff," he said, sighing.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"That's just lame," she muttered.

Glynda shook her head, looking around.

"You'll have quite the story to tell your classmates when they return."

Nora's eyes widened enthusiastically.

"When?!"

"Many will likely be here tomorrow."

Nora clapped her hands excitedly.

She spun to face her boyfriends.

"Guys, wait! Do you think we'll be in history textbooks?!"

Sun sipped his coffee, which he had been holding with his tail.

He glanced at Pyrrha, who subtly gestured for him to speak.

"That would be awesome!"

Nora punched him on the shoulder, and he silently grimaced, rubbing his arm, which was now sore.

"You were barely even there!" she said.

He gasped.

"I did more than most people! I was there! I talked to the gods!"

"You probably shouldn't have, considering you almost got us all killed," Jaune said.

"Didn't you almost get Pyrrha killed?" Ilia asked.

Jaune was silent for a moment before he burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sun grinned, glancing at Pyrrha, who gave him a thumbs up.

-

Weiss groaned.

"No, I'm too comfortable to get out of bed," she said, latching onto Blake.

The faunus tried to extract herself from the bed, but Weiss held on tight, keeping her laying down.

"Blake, just get up," Yang said.

The cat faunus hesitated, glancing down at Weiss, who had buried her head against her shoulder.

"But she's so cute," Blake said.

"Get up before Nora comes in here and yells at us again."

Blake grimaced and pushed herself to her feet, Weiss continuing to clutch her.

The faunus waited for Weiss to let go, but she held on tightly.

Yang and Ruby glanced between their two teammates before they grinned.

"Okay, she is pretty cute," Yang admitted.

"She's _adorable_!" Ruby cried.

"Not cute," Weiss muttered sleepily.

All three of her girlfriends laughed, and she ignored them, clutching Blake tightly.

"This is my life now. I am a Weiss carrier."

-

"What did I say about being adorable?" Nora called as Blake walked down the stairs, Weiss still holding onto her.

"It's not my fault she won't wake up," Blake said.

Ruby zipped into the room with her semblance.

"Would you let go of Blake for some _coffee_?" she asked, holding the mug in front of Weiss' face invitingly.

Weiss tiredly reached out for the coffee and Ruby moved back a few steps.

"Just let go of Blake and you can get some nice, delicious coffee!" she said, waving it around.

Weiss considered for a moment, groaning, and detached from Blake, dropping to the ground. Blake steadied her worriedly as she grabbed the coffee from Ruby.

Weiss leaned against Blake and sipped at her coffee happily.

"Seriously?! You can't just go back to holding Blake!" Yang called.

Weiss growled at her.

"Rude," Yang muttered.

"Are we doing piggy back races again?" Sun asked excitedly, glancing at Ilia. She shook ehr head hurriedly.

"No, Weiss just refuses to get up," Ruby said.

Blake nodded sagely.

Glynda glanced at the group, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to help rebuild the school or sit there and bicker? Students should be here by two," she said.

"Who?" Ruby asked excitedly. She'd missed some of her classmates during the long stent of their time out of the school.

"More importantly, we're volunteering. She can't tell us what to do anymore, we're not her students," Nora muttered. But she purposefully didn't speak loud enough for Glynda to hear.

"We're not doing a good job, are we? Come on, let's start working!" Sun said enthusiastically, hurrying down the hallway... he paused a moment later, glancing back at his new teammates.

"Wait, what are we going to be working on again?" he asked worriedly.

Ren shook his head, grabbing Nora by the hand and tugging her toward where Sun had run off to.

"We're working on the back West hallway. The pillars are metallic, so Pyrrha should be able to help a lot," Jaune said.

"Oh yeah! She has polarity as her semblance!" Sun said enthusiastically.

"What do you need us to do, ma'am?" Penny asked happily, saluting at Glynda.

Glynda stared at Penny and her new teammates.

"Who are you people again?"

-

"Hey there, Jauney Boy," a familiar voice drawled, accompanied by the echoing sound of boots against the marble floor that Glynda had fixed recently.

Jaune froze, eyes going wide as he glanced at his teammates.

"Jauney Boy?" the voice drawled again, gaining a slightly melodic tune.

"Hey, Cardin," he said with a grimace.

He turned and was met with that annoying, self satisfied smirk that Cardin would always used before he attacked someone.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"I've been great, Cardin," Jaune said with a frustrated sigh.

"As great as you could be, I guess. Surprised you survived the fall. Guess you probably got saved by that girlfriend of yours."

"Nora?" Jaune asked.

Cardin frowned.

"What?" Nora called from down the hallway, waving at him.

Jaune smiled back at her and subtly waved for her to join him.

She jogged down the hallway, grabbing Ren by the hand and dragging him behind her.

"Nora? I thought you'd somehow tricked that Nikos girl into settling for you," Cardin said.

Sun perked up, looking over at the pair.

"You and Pyrrha went out?" he asked Jaune. "I thought she and Ilia started dating right after the fall."

"They did. Pyrrha and I never dated," Jaune responded, glad that someone else was joining the conversation to help him against Cardin.

Cardin frowned in confusion, looking between Sun and Jaune.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

Nora skidded to a stop beside Jaune, Ren joining her.

"Hey, Cardin!" Nora said with a fake smile. She put a hand on her hammer in what she probably thought was subtle, but was really _very_ menacingly.

"Hello, Nora," he said slowly.

"You wouldn't happen to be harassing my Jauney Poo, would you?" she asked defensively, putting her head on Jaune's shoulder gently.

Cardin glanced between the two.

"Of course not. You know me, Nora. Always protecting the little guy. Just catching up with some old friends."

Nora nodded with that same fake smile.

Ren seemed to catch onto what was happening, because he set a hand on Jaune's shoulder, squeezing it.

"I apologize, Cardin, but we really must steal Jaune from you for our work," Ren said, starting to pull away with Jaune.

Cardin reached out and grabbed Jaune by the wrist, tugging him back.

"Oh, it'll just take a second," he said with a snide smirk.

Jaune glanced between Nora and Ren. Nora gestured for him to speak.

Jaune squared his shoulders. He'd fought against Salem's forces, saved lives, and he was a Huntsman.

Jaune's eyes widened at the last fact.

He was a _Huntsman_!

Jaune cleared his throat and turned to face Cardin once again.

"You still working on your Huntsman license?"

He faltered slightly.

"Of course. Did you decide to finally give up on that?" he asked, smirking.

"Getting my license? Yeah, I guess I did," Jaune paused to gain dramatic effect, "considering I already have one."

Cardin's eyes widened as Jaune pulled his scroll out of his pocket and showcased the license with a wide smile.

Cardin faltered and Jaune grinned smugly.

"And, as an official Huntsman, I think it would be great for you to go work over there."

Jaune pointed at the hall at the gross end of the corner. It was disgusting, filled with mold and cracked walls. Nobody had gotten around to actually working there because nobody _wanted_ to go anywhere remotely near it.

Jaune grinned.

Cardin hesitated.

"As a student, I think it would be a good for you to listen to the orders of an official Huntsman," Nora said, tightening her grip on her hammer.

Cardin stumbled over his words, but didn't get any out.

He finally nodded mutely and walked into the corner.

Jaune spun to face his teammates.

"Did you see that?! I finally showed him up!" he hissed.

Nora grinned at him proudly, looping her hands around his neck and pulling him down for a long kiss.

-

Sun trailed through the halls, bumping into Pyrrha's back. He must not have been paying enough attention.

He stumbled backward, eyes wide.

"Pyrrha, seriously, how much do you work out?" he asked in disbelief.

Pyrrha glanced at him, shrugging.

"I don't know."

"At least eight hours a week," Ilia said, watching Pyrrha as she lifted a large pillar and set it into place.

"Il, you're drooling," Sun said.

Ilia jumped and put a hand to her chin before glaring at him.

"No I'm not!" she hissed.

Sun grinned, putting his tail around her shoulders.

"It's fine if you are. You've got a fine girl, Ilia. You definitely moved on from Blake!"

Ilia glanced at him, frowning.

"You'll find someone, Sun."

Sun waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm not worried about that right now. What I'm worried about it making some new friends!"

"What Pyrrha said last night really stuck with you, didn't it?" she asked, smiling.

"She told you?"

"Of course she told me," Ilia said.

Sun laughed, shaking his head.

"Oh, right, I forgot. All of you have perfect relationships here."

"We don't have perfect relationships," Ilia said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Neo and Ciel are constantly arguing, albeit playfully. Jaune still doesn't think Ren and Nora love him as much as they love each other. Winter gets frustrated with Penny's social ineptitude. Whitley still wants Oscar to leave for Atlas with him, but Oscar's not going anywhere. Coco and Velvet are, like, polar opposites, so of course they fight. And team RWBY? Sun, if you think that they live in a perfect world with a perfect relationship, you really are a monkey. Weiss still seems to think they're all going to break up with her."

Sun glanced at her, grinning.

"A racist faunus joke from a member of the White Fang? Who would have thought."

Ilia rolled her eyes.

"That's what you focus on?" Ilia asked.

"So you're telling me that all of you aren't perfect in your relationships?" Sun said.

"Of course not!" Ilia cried. "That's ridiculous! There's no such thing as a perfect relationship."

"What about you and Pyrrha?" he asked.

"I still think she's going to find someone who's actually in her league instead of me, who's probably about fifty leagues below her. And I worry too much, you know that."

Sun glanced at her with a frown.

"You two seem perfect for each other, Il. You don't have to worry," he said, setting a hand on her shoulder.

Ilia smiled at him.

"Thanks, Sun."

"Of course! Now go introduce me to everyone in the group!" Sun said.

"You've already met everyone," Ilia said.

"Yeah, but it's way less weird if you drag me along and talk to everyone with me."

Ilia glanced at the rest of their team.

"Go ahead!" Pyrrha called.

Nora nodded.

"We can handle Cardin if he comes back!" she cried.

"Of course we can!" Jaune said excitedly.

"Alright! Let's go!" Sun said, looping his tail around Ilia and tugging her along behind him.

Ilia stumbled and glanced at him, frowning as she looked at him.

He didn't seem to notice and they hurried down the hall.

-

Winter raised an eyebrow as Sun hurried forward.

"Hey!" he said.

"What do you need?" Winter asked.

"I just wanted to talk! We haven't been able to do that enough! Winter, right?"

"Yes."

Sun glanced at Penny, who hurried forward and held out her hand for a handshake.

"It's going to be great to get to know you, Sun!"

"Yeah! Maybe I can get you to call me Friend Sun by the end of today," he said, taking her hand. He regretted it, as she squeezed his hand way too hard. He didn't let her see that, though, because he'd hate to hurt her feelings (like she'd hurt his hand).

Penny's eyes turned excited.

"I would love to be your friend, Friend Sun!"

"Great! One down, only a dozen to go!"

Penny laughed and grinned enthusiastically at him.

"Come help us work!" she said.

Sun gave Ilia a thumbs up and the two joined the robotic girl.

It was rather awkward working with Penny, but only because Winter seemed unsure if she wanted Sun to be here with them.

He was able to win her over after a little bit, though mostly because of how enthusiastic Penny was to have him there.

"That went great!" Sun said when they left, turning to face Ilia excitedly.

"You almost died," Ilia said.

Granted, Penny had almost killed him when she had gotten excited about something. That had caused her to almost drop a large piece of scaffolding on his head. Winter had saved his life with a glyph.

"Yeah, but I didn't, did I?" he asked with a wide grin.

Ilia shook her head, chuckling.

"Who's next?" he asked excitedly.

-

"Do you know sign language?" Sun whispered to Ilia, who nodded.

"Kind of. Our team's been learning."

"Great!"

"Hi! You're Ciel, right?" Sun asked, holding out his hand for the girl.

She nodded, taking his hand and shaking it formally.

"Yes. Sun, right?"

He nodded happily, tail wagging.

"And that's Neopolitan, right?"

"Yes," she said. "Please be nice to him, Neo."

_'Yes, I **am** Neopolitan, but you can just call me the love of Ciel's life.'_

Ciel groaned as Ilia translated.

"You really don't have to speak to her," Ciel told Sun.

"What?! She seems fun!"

Neo grinned.

 _'Thank you. I really do try, considering at least one of us,'_ she gestured between herself and Ilia, _'has to be.'_

Sun laughed.

"Man! I should have taken a sign language class!"

"We can teach you," Ilia said.

Neo smirked, glancing at Ciel.

"Please don't teach him. The more people that understand her, the worse it is for the world," Ciel said, voice monotone.

Sun grinned.

Helping those two was fun, but mostly because Neo wasn't helping herself and was instead messing with her girlfriend. She insisted that Sun help her, and the two ended up pranking team CFVY. That ended up being great for Sun, because all but one of their teammates enjoyed it, which helped him get to know them all better. Velvet was the only one who didn't enjoy it, but he was able to win her over with a heart felt apology.

-

"Thanks for taking me around to meet everyone, Ilia!" Sun said happily.

"Yeah, no problem, but we should probably get back to our team."

"Right! I keep forgetting I have a new team!"

"You better not, because Nora might get a bit jealous if you go back to your old team."

Sun laughed, but Ilia didn't join in.

"Seriously?"

"She offered you a place on the team, Sun. You're a part of team JNIPRS now, get used to it."

Sun laughed, tail wagging.

"This a long term thing?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a life time commitment, so you really should get used to us."

"Oh no," Sun said sarcastically.

Ilia grinned at him.

"So what all comes with being on team JNIPRS?"

"You have to learn to deal with Nora, understand Ren's language of various grunts and nods, you know about Pyrrha and I, and you have to protect Jaune without seeming like you're protecting him and that he's doing it himself."

"That... seems weird."

"Thank you."

Sun grinned, tail wagging.

"I love it!"


	21. What's Next?

Yang fell against Weiss with a groan.

"This is taking forever."

"We've been working for less than an hour today," the former heiress said.

"Exactly."

"And the school is literally rebuilding itself," she said, gesturing at the headmistress.

"Exactly! Which means we could be doing other things!"

"Like training!" Ruby cried.

"Not what I meant, Rubes."

"What?"

Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, and the team leader's eyes widened.

"O-oh! Well..."

"Love birds, get back to work!" Nora called.

"Rude!" Yang yelled back.

"We should be done by the end of today, at least!" Sun said excitedly.

"What's the plan after today, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hey! I'm your team leader!" Jaune called.

"But Ruby's, like, the team leader of team leaders now, right?" Nora asked.

"Heck yeah!" Yang called.

"Can you guys shut up? You're giving me a headache," Fox said.

"You know you love us," Coco responded.

"Sadly."

"If you're all looking for something to do after this, Beacon would be more than happy to have a few on site Huntsmen and Huntresses to help with training and protection," Glynda said, a small smile on her face.

There was a beat of silence, and the group looked at one another.

"We'll have to... think about it," Ruby said. "We've... been through a lot lately. We might just need a break for a while."

Glynda nodded, looking around at the group.

"I meant for next year, when we start accepting next year students. We'll need a large staff of Huntsmen and Huntresses, and all of you will be welcome."

Neo's eyes widened and she tapped Ciel's hand.

_'I've never had a real job. Like, a legal one.'_

"I know."

_'I could have a real job!'_

"I know."

Neo grinned and grabbed Ciel in a tight hug, making her girlfriend laugh quietly.

Ruby glanced around, finding a lot of excited expressions.

"We'll be there!" Ruby said happily.

"Where will you all be until then?" Glynda asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"I guess we're not... sure. We'll figure it out, though," Ruby said.

"Yeah! We've got a stolen airship and a whole four months before we have to be back!" Nora cried.

"That thing's stolen?" Glynda asked.

"Technically it **was** , but it isn't now," Winter said.

"Are you returning that?"

"We don't plan to," Nora said.

"Then... don't get caught," Glynda said with a sigh.

"It's not stolen anymore!" Nora called at her retreating figure.

Yang snickered.

"I don't think she cares."

"Well, I do," Nora said, crossing her arms. Jaune put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah, nobody else does."

"She has a point, though. Where _are_ we going?" Sun asked.

"Why? You thinking about skipping out on us?" Nora asked suspiciously.

"What?! Of course not! I'm coming with you!" Sun cried, shaking his hands dismissively.

"That's right," Nora said, crossing her arms with a smirk.

"It doesn't matter where we're going," Weiss said, smiling at her teammates.

"Yeah! We'll figure it out as we go!" Ruby said happily.

"That's always what we've done, after all," Pyrrha said with a small smile.

"Guys," Oscar said suddenly.

Everyone turned to face him.

"I think I have a plan, actually. At least, for me."

"What?" Whitley asked, frowning in confusion.

"I want to go here. When it opens back up, I mean. I want to become a Huntsman like you guys."

Ruby grinned, racing forward and hugging him tightly.

"That's great! We'll all be here to support you!" she cried.

"And embarrass you," Nora said, smirking.

Oscar paled.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, we will," Jaune continued for his girlfriend.

"This is great!" Ruby cried.

Whitley looked conflicted, and Weiss walked over to join her brother, dragging her sister behind her.

"You'll still be together, even if he's at Beacon."

"I know that," Whitley said, crossing his arms defensively.

"But you need to go back to Atlas," Winter said.

"Why?" Whitley snapped.

"Because you aren't interested in becoming a Huntsman and you wouldn't be ready," Weiss said.

"And you're the heir to the SDC," Winter said.

"I thought that with father in jail one of you would contest me for the company," Whitley responded.

"I don't want it," Weiss said quickly. "I'm a Huntress now. I'm not interested in running a company."

"I let go of the company years ago," Winter said dismissively.

Whitley raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two.

"You're serious?"

They both nodded.

Whitley smiled at the pair.

"Thank you."

"No need, I really don't want it," Weiss said.

"Do you hear that?" Winter asked.

"Yes, Girlfriend Winter. I believe that is an airship!" Penny called.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if I get them married... what's the last name?


	22. Goodbyes

Ruby felt her scroll buzzing in her pocket, and she pulled it out.

Her eyes widened, and she glanced at her sister.

She grabbed Yang back the arm and pulled her out of the room.

"Rubes, what's up?" she asked.

She opened her scroll, answering the call.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow! How are things going?" she asked. Yang's eyes widened and she moved closer, putting her ear against the scroll to hear it better.

"How do you think they're going, kid?" Qrow asked.

"Good?" Ruby questioned, unsure.

"They're going as well as you could expect, Ruby. Your uncle is a grump," Elm called.

"Where are you two?" Yang asked, glancing at her sister.

"Back in Atlas. Weirdly, they just... forgot everything," Qrow said.

"That's... odd," Ruby said, glancing at her sister. Yang gave her a small smile.

"What are you doing there in Atlas?" Yang asked.

"We... joined the Ace-Ops again," Qrow said. He sounded slightly surprised at that, almost like he hadn't really thought about what they'd done.

"Wow, really?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah! Qrow's the team leader now!" Elm called.

"Team leader? Him?" Yang asked, scoffing.

"Yeah, just kind of seemed like it fit. You know, with the complementary semblances," Elm responded.

Qrow laughed quietly, and Ruby could tell he had rolled his eyes.

"Where are you kids at again?" Qrow asked.

"Beacon! Yeah, we're back at Beacon!" Ruby said. "We're helping rebuild!"

"How long's that gonna take?" Elm called.

"Actually, we're just about done!"

"If you still have that totally legal airship of yours, maybe you could come visit us here!" Elm said.

"Uh, maybe. We're not really sure what we're going to do now," Ruby said.

"Hope you guys are alright," Qrow said. "And... thanks."

"You're welcome," Yang said.

Ruby put her phone in her pocket as she heard them hang up.

"That went... surprisingly well," Yang said.

"Elm's good for him," Ruby responded, shaking her head.

"Clover would have been too."

Ruby sighed.

"I know."

Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"He'll be alright," Yang said. "It'll just... take some time."

-

Ruby and Yang walked back into the main room, catching Blake and Weiss' attention.

"Who was that?" Weiss asked, trying to sound subtle. She didn't.

"Qrow and Elm."

"How are they doing?" Ilia asked. She'd turned at the mention of their uncle.

"They're... fine. They're back with the Ace-Ops," Yang said.

"Is that... a good idea?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

"They seem happy enough. I mean, as much as to be expected," Ruby responded.

"That's good," Ilia said slowly. Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" she whispered.

Ilia nodded, reaching a hand up to play with her pendant.

"Is she okay?" Sun whispered to Yang.

"She and Clover were _very_ close. Qrow and Elm were dating him until...," she trailed off, and he nodded.

Before Sun could respond, the sound of footsteps made him hesitate.

"Who's that?"

The door opened and a large group of students walked inside, looking around at the halls in wonder.

"Students, please follow me to the dorms," Glynda said.

She hesitated beside the large group.

"You've done well, but you've done more than enough. You all need a vacation," Glynda said as she walked by.

"She's right! I say we go right now!" Nora said enthusiastically.

"Do none of you want to say goodbye to the place? Maybe take a minute to reflect or look around?" Penny asked, frowning.

"No, I think we're good. We'll be back," Ruby said, grabbing Weiss by the hand.

"You guys ready?!" Nora called.

There was a collection of various forms of the word "yes" from the group.

Just as Ruby was about to join her friends, a hand tapped on her shoulder.

She turned, looking down at Maria.

"Ruby, I want you all to drop me off in Argus."

"What?! Why?!"

"Kid, I'm an old lady. I can't keep running around with you all!"

"No, I get that, but... Argus?"

"Caroline is probably wondering where I've been."

"Cordovin?!" Ruby cried.

Maria nodded.

"Yes."

"Wondering where you've been so she can arrest you?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"So, since none of you are sure where you're going, I'd like to suggest you stop there first to drop me off."

"Oh, yeah, of course! I'll let them know!" Ruby said. "Though, it won't be the same without you."

"I'll miss you too, kid."

Ruby grinned down at her before zooming away with her semblance.

"We're going to Argus, guys!" she called.

"Okay," Weiss said, shaking her head. She was sure that she wouldn't be able to talk her girlfriend out of it, even if she wanted to.

"Slow down, kids!" Maria called.

"Sorry!" Ruby cried, waving her hand at her in apology.

-

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked, glancing down at her girlfriend.

"Yeah... I'm fine."

"No you're not."

Ilia laughed quietly, shaking her head in frustration.

"I know."

"I'll be here for you."

"I know."

Ilia leaned up to try and kiss her, putting her arms around Pyrrha's neck. She couldn't reach, even as she leaned up on her tip toes.

Pyrrha started to lean down, and Ilia pushed her back up.

"I can do it on my own," she muttered.

Pyrrha nodded, struggling to hold back a laugh as Ilia strained upward.

Arms looped around Ilia's waist and lifted her up.

At first, Ilia was about to tell Pyrrha to let go, but she soon realized it was someone else. She glanced behind her, and Sun's grinning face met her.

"Go on, kiss her! I can't hold you up forever. Even though you do weight, like, fifteen pounds."

Ilia scoffed, rolling her eyes.

She turned to face Pyrrha and grabbed her face, pulling her down the little distance in between them.

Sun laughed quietly, looking away with a small smile.

When they pulled apart, he spoke.

"Looks like I graduated from third wheel to ultimate wingman! Oooh! Does this make me a lesbro?!"

"No," Yang said from across the airship, shaking her head.

"Yes," Ilia responded, laughing.

"Yes!" Sun cried.

-

Ruby looked around the airship, a small smile on her face.

She'd never felt happier than she did right this second!

Blake set her hand on Ruby's knee, and she turned with a fond expression.

"I love you," Ruby breathed.

Blake seemed surprised.

"I love you, too. Is something wrong?"

"Nope. Everything's great, actually."

Ruby grinned and Blake met it with her own small smile.

Weiss leaned over and set her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"I love you, Weiss," Ruby said with an excitable air, though her words were quiet.

"I love you, too, Ruby."

Ruby looked at the two girls, and a thought entered her head.

She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Weiss and Blake. She'd had the idle thought before, but this time, it felt like... more.

She wanted to spend every minute of every day with them. She wanted to spend the **rest of her life** with them. She wanted to live with them! She wanted...

Ruby wanted to marry them.

She looked over at the pair, and her eyes widened.

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Weiss asked.

Ruby jumped.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm great."

She was right earlier. She'd never been better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You wore me down! The marriage is next!
> 
> Also, we did it, guys! We hit 200k words!!!


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